Dasher
by New.York.Celt
Summary: New York City; the place where dreams come true. Apparently it's also where men with eye patches think they can drag you out of your home, reveal your freaky mutant powers to a group of equally strange people, and then make you save the world. I swear to God, if it wasn't for that hot scientist, I would not be taking any of this. Bruce/OC
1. Chapter 1: Origins

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Do you remember that whole debacle about _The War of the Worlds_ in 1938?

No?

Well…it pretty much was a huge misunderstanding coupled with human gullibility.

There was a radio drama series in 1938, and_ The War of the Worlds_ was one of the episodes. Most of the radio show was simulated news broadcasts that described an alien invasion. It was all a part of the radio drama show, as everyone who had been a long time listener knew.

Of course, for new listeners, they thought it was very scary. And very real.

People went into hysteria. Panic filled the people and therefore, they filled the streets. People ran from their homed to find their loved ones or ran to the local churches to pray for the end to come swiftly or for their souls to be saved. People began walking around with home-made gas masks and weapons. Women miscarried and went into early labor. Deaths and suicides were reported.

All because of a radio show.

People were pissed when they found out it wasn't real. I'd be pretty pissed off too. So color me surprised when several decades later…almost the same happenings of that radio broadcast were actually occurring.

Captain said he remembers that broadcast. After all, it was broadcast eight years before he was turned into an icicle, give or take a few years.

I couldn't fathom why I could remember that broadcast that I'd learned about in school with such detail. It seemed almost laughable now, thanks to the situation at hand. Smirking, I couldn't do much but shake my head and get ready to start throwing some alien ass around town.

* * *

"Twin set number 25-D are ready." An emotionless baritone droned over the clinic's loud speaker. The clinic's hallways were all white: the tiles, the wallpaper, the cheap ceiling panels, but they all had begun to yellow with age.

Nurses and doctors slowly migrated from one observation room to another. Crying and screaming came from every room they left; the high pitched noises had become common to the medical personnel. They didn't seem to acknowledge the ear piercing screams as they all entered one of the last doors on the left side of the hall. Inside the small room was a group of doctors and nurses, observing a pair of one-year-old babies. One of the nurses turned on a small recorder and began to speak into the device, her tired eyes reading a manila file.

"Doctor Robbins, testing twin set number 25-D. Fraternal twins. Irish and German in decent. Eldest sibling is male, youngest is female." The nurse grumbled into the small recorder, clearly exhausted.

A man in a white coat picked up the baby swathed in green, who let out a cry. The other twin, a baby wrapped in blue, cried at the loss of his sister. The doctor held the baby girl to his chest and left the room.

"Doctor Robbins is separating twin 25-D1 from 25-D2. D-2 will be receiving the injections to see if D-1 will respond to them as well. Proof of twin telepathy, or any kind of connection which would make the two share any sort of physical or emotional symptoms, has not been proven by any of the other twin studies." The nurse said softly, turning off the recorder.

The nurse who spoke on the recording sighed as the last of the other nurses left the 25-D observation room. Cautiously, the nurse hovered over the baby boy, looking for any kind of distress. The doctor said he would be injecting into 25-D2's left arm, so she should look for D1 showing any discomfort in his left arm.

"I'm so sorry about this." The nurse murmured, feeling light headed as she watched the baby. "What Doctor Robbins' is doing. It's not right."

The baby boy seemed to understand the nurse and let out a small whimper. The nurse grimaced. She threw down her clip board onto the counter and picked the small bundle up. Cradling the crying baby in her arms, the nurse pressed a kiss to his forehead.

* * *

"Doctor Robbins has cancelled Project 295: Twin Studies. No proof of hypothesis was found and none of the goals were met. The twins will be returned to their prospective parents and or guardians." The nurse murmured dejectedly into the recorder.

Doctor Robbins' twin studies had finally ended after two years. The twenty five sets of twins showed no signs of one twin seeming in pain or distress that the other twin was feeling when they were separated. Many of the nurses were relieved that the testing had stopped. They had seen these babies grow up and they were becoming concerned that Doctor Robbins was inching close to malpractice. The nurses had noticed some strange marks appearing on a few of the children. Bruises, small cuts, or rashes appeared on the children selected to experience the stimuli first hand, but the babies had not had those marks the night before when the nurses left to go home.

Slowly, the nurses realized that these bruises showed up the morning after when Doctor Robbins' would stay late and be the last one to close the clinic before the night nurses came to watch over the babies. The nurses began to stay later and later with the babies and Doctor Robbins seemed to realize that his own nurses were wary of him.

Frustrated, Doctor Robbins ended his twin project.

* * *

**8 Years Later. (Age 10): Kate's POV. **

"Kate, just try and catch the ball!" Max, my twin brother, whined. I huffed, crossing my arms over my chest. I didn't feel like playing catch! I just wanted to swing on the swing set.

"Max, I don't wanna!" I said, pouting at my slightly older brother. Max frowned and furrowed his brow.

"Just a few times! Please!" Max begged, stomping his foot.

"Go ask Daddy!" I sighed, not wanting to get off my swing.

"Dad's busy! It's Tuesday, you know he goes out bowling with his friends." Max whined, holding the flimsy looking wiffle ball in his hands. I sighed, throwing my hands up and slowing down the swing. Max began to cheer as he noticed my toes scraping the ground to try and decrease momentum. He ran to the other side of the yard where there was a pile of wiffle balls and some cheap rubber bases.

"Max, can you help me?" I asked, feeling the swing begin to wobble. The play set was rather old and rusty and I was now beginning to grow nervous about the creaking metal. Max groaned, tossing down the rubber bases and wiped his dirty hands off on his jeans. Suddenly, a large snap rang through the air. Looking up, I noticed the swing set's largest main bar had snapped and was about to come crashing down onto my head.

"RUN!" Max shouted, running over to me as fast as he could. Letting out a quick yelp, I shoved myself off the quaking set. I felt the wind swoosh around me as I sprung from the swing seat. I heard Max shout as I felt myself loose balance mid-air and I was sent smashing to the ground.

"Kate! Oh my god_! How did you do that!?"_ Max cried as he rushed over to me and fell to his knees. Gasping, I rolled onto my back and sat up. My head spun and I felt something warm dribbling down my temple.

"Do w-what?" I winced, closing my eyes to try and make the world stop spinning. Max looked at my forehead and winced, his eyes wide in wonder.

"That was so wicked! Don't freak out…" He whispered, leaning closer to get a look at my forehead.

"About what?" I asked, growing worried and annoyed. Was I hurt that bad?

"You jumped." Max said, putting his hands on my shoulders. His hands were shaking, but he didn't look cold or scared. He looked amazed.

"Well…I couldn't really run off the swing, Max." I said, looking at my older brother worriedly. Max slowly leaned away from me and turned towards the pile of swing set. The rickety pile of metal was at least forty feet away from us.

"You…jumped this far." Max said in awe, his teal eyes wide in wonder.

"I-It was 'cause I was swinging so high." I said, trying to make sense of how far I had jumped. Max shook his head, his blonde hair flying around.

"No…y-you didn't just jump! It was fast! Like…cheetah fast! One second you were on the swing, then all the sudden you're in the air!" Max said, a huge grin crossing his face. His grin faltered to a confused look as he prodded at my slightly throbbing temple with a rather dirty finger.

"Ya' got bone or something sticking out of your head." He noted dully, poking at…something. I felt pressure at my head, about an inch above the tips of my ears, but it didn't feel. It felt like when someone would touch my nails, but…lighter. More like when someone touches the hat on top of your head: you can feel it, but it doesn't hurt.

"It looks like…a horn." Max said, still prodding at my head.

"I have a horn!?" I cried, feeling tears well up in my eyes. Max jumped and began waving his hands in front of my face, his fall back plan when he tries to make me stop crying.

"N-no! C'mon, let's go inside and clean up! 'Kay?" He asked, picking me up underneath my arms and hauling me to my feet. I shakily followed my older brother into the house, sneaking past our sleeping mother into the bathroom and locking the door behind us. I sat down on the cool floor as Max opened the small closet door and began rooting around inside. I turned towards the floor length mirror I was leaning up against and stared at myself.

I felt more tears welling up as I stared at what looked like a small…twig sticking out of my head. A little brown nub was sticking out of my head, a few inches behind my hairline. About an inch above the tip of my ear was where it sat, blood tricking from the skin around the extrusion. I brought a quaking hand up to the horn and ran my fingers over it. It was kind of…soft, like velvet.

"Don't tug on it. I think it's…attached." Max said, still digging through the closet. Nervously, I gently tugged at the little brown nub. I felt the same strange sensation I felt when Max was poking at me. Slightly relieved that it wasn't a stick that I had fallen and impaled myself on, I let myself take a deep breath. I closed my eyes and took another deep breath after I felt better after the first deep breath.

When I opened my eyes, I was astounded to see that the little brown horn was gone. The blood was still there, drying on my temple. I brought my hand up to where the horn used to be and ran my hand through my hair. There was nothing there, not even a hole.

"Max…it's gone." I whispered, leaning closer to the mirror. Max closed the closet door, hands filled with cotton balls, alcohol, Neosporin, and a box of bandages. Confused, he dropped to his knees on the floor beside me. Gently, he ran both of his hands through my hair, prodding at my scalp.

"You made it…vanish. Can you make it come back?" Max asked, pushing my hair away from my face.

"I just…took a deep breath." I mumbled, feeling a little lightheaded.

"What were you thinking about?" Max asked, soaking one of the cotton balls with the rubbing alcohol. He ran it across the palms of my hands, which had been scraped during my fall.

"I...I don't know?" I questioned myself, trying to ignore the throbbing in my palms. "Calming down? Maybe I was thinking about...the horn going away."

Max frowned, rubbing his chin in thought. He pursed his lips and scratched his chin. That was one thing that my brother and I share in common: we're always twitching or moving. Max haunched back onto his feet and ran his fingers through his light auburn-blonde hair.

"Close your eyes and imagine them back!" Max said after a few moments of hard thought. I narrowed my eyes and shot my twin a dirty look.

"You're kidding me, Maxie." I huffed, crossing my arms over my chest. Max rolled his eyes and let out a similar huff.

"Just do it! Maybe you could go to that school for freaks!" Max said, but not in a mean way. His eyes were shining and a happy-go-lucky grin was on his face. Growling, I kept my arms crossed over my chest, but I closed my eyes. I tried to imagine my image in the mirror and tried to see the horn coming out of my head. I then imagined a second one, coming out of my skull. I felt a tingle above both my ears, but no pain. I imagined the two horns growing and growing...eventually branching out like-

"Antlers! Kate! You have antlers!"

Max's crow made my eyes snap open. I looked into the mirror's reflection and my eyes grew wider. Two little three-inch deer antlers were sprouting out of my head, just like they had in my imagination. They weren't that impressive, they looked more like Bambi the deer's baby antlers.

"They're kinda…strange." I said, moving my head from side to side. They didn't feel too heavy, but they had some weight to them. I swayed my head, feeling the small antlers out. Max laughed, reaching out to touch the little antlers.

"Very strange! Hey, you might grow up to be a ten point buck one day!" Max giggled, jabbing at my antlers.

"Bucks are males." I grouched, tapping my antlers against the mirror. They made rather loud clunks as they hit the glass, but they didn't shatter it. I sighed, shrugging my shoulders. Nervously, I closed my eyes once more and imagined that the antlers slowly sinking back into my head. I felt a strange sensation that was different than what I felt when I imagined that the antlers appeared. It was kind of like a…sucking sensation. Like when you stick your palm flat on the suction hose of the vacuum.

"Gone?" I whispered nervously, too afraid to open my eyes.

"They're gone." Max said sullenly, making me sigh. Opening my eyes, I was relieved to see that the antlers were truly gone. Max ran his hand through my hair, double checking for antlers. I sighed and leaned into his hand. What the hell was wrong with me?

"Do you think I'm a freak?" I whispered, scooting closer to my brother and burrowing myself into his arms. Max smiled and shook his head, squeezing me tightly.

"No! Look at the bright side: you've got super powers! You can run jump high and you've got effen' antlers! Your superhero name can be…" Max said, biting his lip. I groaned, shaking my head.

"I don't want a name!" I laughed, shoving his shoulder with my forehead.

"Misses Moose…or She-Elk!" Max said, thrusting his chin up in the air with pride.

"Misses Moose….She-Elk?" I repeated, looking at my brother like he was the dumbest creature on the planet.

"And I'll be your sidekick: Bambi Boy! Or…He-Deer!" He crowed, striking a heroic pose.

"You…you just…when did someone drop you on your head?" I sighed, running my hand down my face. Max cackled, hunching over into a villainous pose and began to rub his hands together as if he was plotting.

"This is…perfect!" Max giggled evilly, rubbing his palms together. Great, the lunatic had a heroic idea and now he's got an evil one. Sometimes I wonder if Max's got that multiple personality disorder I heard about on the TV show, Criminal Minds.

"What's perfect? That I'm some kind of…." I trailed off, unable to finish my train of thought. What am I? Am I an alien? A mutant? Maybe I was one of those animorphs that I read about! Was I a human that turns into a deer, or a deer that can turn into a human?

"Coat hanger head!" I groaned, leaning my back against the glass and hitting the back of my head against it in exasperation. Max cackled wildly at my put down, his eyes closing in laughter.

"C-coat hanger! No! You'll be my security dog!" Max said, jumping to his feet. He gave me the hand signal for _'stay'_ and raced out of the bathroom. I huffed at the sign, but I stayed put in the bathroom, hearing my brother running upstairs to his bedroom. Nursing my sore palms, I puckered my lips in annoyance.

"Look!" Max cheered, entering the bathroom and locking the door behind him once more. He had a large rolled up piece of brown paper in his hand. He unrolled it across the tile floor and a detailed drawing of a store appeared. It looked small and fairly simple, but there were detailed notes and numbers surrounding the drawing.

"A cafe?" I asked, slowly reading the handwriting scrawled around the drawing of the actual building. There was a start of a menu on one side and everything was a desert. Max shrugged, looking down at the unrolled paper. The paper looked beaten and a lot of places looked like something had been erased and rewritten multiple times.

"A bakery." He grumbled, as if I had somehow insulted him. "In New York City. I've been planning this since…like, forever."

"I think it's great, Maxie." I smiled, patting his shoulder. He smiled softly, his eyes far off in some day dream.

"Good. You're coming with me." He sounded resolute, nodding his head.

"You can't just choose for me!" I yelped, taking my hand off his shoulder to smack his arm. "What if I don't want to help you?"

Max snorted, rolling his eyes. He smiled and looked back down at his notes. I couldn't help but smile as I watched him.

"We gotta stick together, Kate. You know that." He said, completely sure of himself. "Besides, you'll get to bake with me, push our employees around, and guard the place!"

I groaned, pressing my forehead into my palms. Sometimes Max didn't know how _frustrating _he could be. I love my brother, love him so much, but he's so energetic. He's like a monkey. Always chattering, always moving, always optimistic.

"And what makes you think I want that?" I asked, my voice muffled by my hands. Max threw his head back and laughed, so free and uncaring.

"'Cause you don't have a choice!"

_"Grreeaaat."_ I groaned, shaking my head.

* * *

**_13 Years Later: Present Day: Age 23._**

"Are you two sure…?" An older woman asked, helping her husband and two children load up her daughter's Ford Fiesta with boxes. Her son snorted, rolling his blue-grey eyes and took the large box out of his mother's arms.

"Ma', don't worry about it! The shop's all set up, we've hired a few bakers already, and all we've got to do is put up some last minute decorations and bring in some of our supplies." Max snorted, placing the big box in the trunk of the hatchback.

"Yeah, we'll be fine." Kate, now a young woman with the same shade of light auburn hair, said softly, twirling her green lanyard, causing her keys to jingling loudly. Kate snorted, seeing her father shuffling down the front steps, wearing the world's ugliest sweater.

_'Hey, Da'_.' Kate signed, her key lanyard wrapped around her wrist. Max and Kate's adoptive father, Phil, had been deaf since birth. As soon as he and his wife, Tinsley, adopted the twins, he had taught his children how to sign.

_'Hey, K.'_ Her father signed, smiling softly. _'You two ready? Long trip to New York City.'_ He asked, his fingers moving in a flurry of signs.

_'As ready as we can.'_ Kate signed, rolling her eyes while making an over exaggerated look of irritation. A lot of sign language was actually in the facial expressions you made when you sign, to show the level of emotion. If one signed '_I'm unhappy'_, with a neutral face, would they really seem unhappy?

_'Take care of each other.'_ Phil signed, his brows furrowed in worry. Max laughed, slapping his arm around his old man's shoulders.

_'Da', don't worry about us! Old antler head is guarding the shop!'_ Max signed, earning a swat from his mother.

"Don't mention that! Especially not when you're in a place like the City." Tinsley snapped, slapping her son on the shoulder. The whole family had known of Kate's…specialness since she was about twelve. Max and Kate had kept her abilities between them for a few years before the cat…-er _deer _was out of the bag.

* * *

_**FLASHBACK: AGE: 12. **_

_Max had been messing around in the woods out behind their property, just like Tinsley always told the twins not to. Kate had been content with sitting on the back porch swing, her sensitive hearing picking up on everything her brother was doing. Her socked feet brushed against the old wood with every sway of the swing, the December wind harsh against her small body. _

_Kate's ears twitched as she caught the sound of something in the woods. Sticking her pointed nose into the air, she took a few quick sniffs, earning a worried look from her father, who was sitting in the wicker rocking chair beside her. Kate stiffened, her ultra-sensitive nose picking up on a scent much different than her twin. _

_Cougar _

_"Cougar! Max and Cougar!" Kate screamed, her father reading her lips. Phil jerked off his chair, about to rush inside to get his gun when he froze in his tracks. Right before his eyes, large antlers began to grow out of his daughter's head. The fifteen inch weapons grew from her head in a matter of seconds. Kate's teal eyes widened in sheer horror and she was suddenly dashing off into the woods. _

_Kate was breathing heavily as she thundered into the woods. Her nose was picking up the scents of her twin and the large cat, the two scents were coming too close together for her liking. _

_"MAX!" Kate howled as her socked feet softly against the snow. The icy wind was beating at her face as she sped, sharp branches nicking at her as she ran. Her plaid long sleeved button up was sliced and she began to be soaked by the snow. Kate's breaths formed in big clouds of fog, but the sounds and smells of the predator only made her run faster._

_She came upon her brother in the nick of time. Max was crouched down, one leg bloody and tucked underneath him while the other was out, wildly kicking at the cougar who was prowling around him. Furiously rushing towards them, Kate let out a loud bellow. The large cat let out a screech, baring its long fangs. _

_"KATE!" Max screamed, trying to wriggle further away from the cougar. Kate shouted in anger, charging towards the large cat. When she was about ten yards away, she bent herself in half and tucked her chin against her chest, her antlers poised and lethal. _

_Kate slammed into the cougar with such viciousness that some of her antler points actually punctured into the cat's thick fur and skin. Her neck muscles bulging, Kate reared her head back up, the cougar still impaled on her antlers. The cat howled in pain as the mutant straightened her head and began to viciously shake her head back and forth. Her sharpened points began to rip and tear into the cougar's flesh, causing blood to run in rivulets down her antlers and face. _

_"Little shit!" Kate screamed as she flung her head in a down ward arc. The cougar was sent flying off her spikes and landed with a wet thump into the snow a few yards away. Kate huffed, a steam of air puffing out her mouth, the cougar's blood covering her shaking form. The cat shakily pushed itself up with its front paws, its back legs clearly paralyzed. Kate and the cougar stared each other down, equal viciousness in their eyes. _

_BANG. _

_The cougar slouched back to the snowy ground, its head nothing more than a bloody mess. Phil came from behind some thick brush, his double barrel shot gun still smoking. He nudged the cougar's dead body with his boot, earning an amused scoff from his daughter. _

_'It doesn't have much of a head anymore, Da'.' Max signed, his fingers covered in his own blood. Phil smirked, rolling his eyes at his children and letting out a relieved sigh. Sure, his daughter had giant deer antlers coming out of her head and his son's leg got mauled by a cougar, but everything was alright. _

_'Home.' Phil signed, nodding to his daughter, who smiled sheepishly. 'and well talk about those antlers.'_

* * *

**PRESENT DAY: **_  
_

"We'll be safe." Kate snorted, rolling her eyes. Tinsley sneered, rolling her eyes at her adoptive daughter. Even though Phil had an amazing relationship with the twins, Tinsley only ever had any love for Max. Kate knew it, Max knew it, Phil knew it…but it was never touched much upon.

"We better get going." Kate said, jingling her car keys nervously. Max had left his Fiat back in New York City, since they would have enough room in Kate's Fiesta for this final trip. The twins hugged their father, Max hugged Tinsley, Kate and Tinsley had a very awkward verbal goodbye, and then the twins were on the road.

"You ready for this…finally?" Kate asked Max, her teal eyes trained on the road. Max snorted, nervously sorting through their traveling CD's.

"Just a little nervous." Max shrugged, rolling his shoulders. "Do you think…this is gonna be good?"

"Maxamillion Patrick McGuiness!" Kate snapped, her blue painted nails clicking on the steering wheel. "You have been planning this bakery since you were nine years old! You've had my help planning since we were thirteen! We've got a better shot than most people out there!"

"Thanks Kate…thanks." Max said softly, leaning his head back against the soft seat as Disney songs began to softly play through the car speakers. Kate smiled, watching her taller twin's eyes flicker until they shut and soft snores began to slowly ring through the car.


	2. Chapter 2: Placed In The Puzzle

This chapter is pretty long, and there won't be any Hulk until next chapter :( This is all about setting up the character instead of just tossing her into the story! We'll see a little bit of Fury, Agent Hill, and the always lovely Miss Black Widow.

Thanks to all you lovelies that reviewed (:

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* * *

"Alright! Alright…opening day! Alright...okay." Max sputtered to himself, nervously fluttering around the shop. He and Kate had been up for the past two full days, baking and filling shelves for opening day. Their employees had already come in for scheduling and training. The young business owners were ready for their first day of work.

Dressed in bakery whites, Max was starting to pace. It was 6:30 in the morning, the shop set to open at 7 A.M. and pressure was beginning to build. Rent for a storefront in Manhattan was insane, but since he and Kate were living upstairs and hoping if the shop was a hit, he and Kate would be able to make ends meet.

"Max, it's gonna be fine. All the breakfast pastries are fresh and Thomas and Audrey are all prepared. Now all's to do is wait and work." Kate said, appearing in the doorway. She was nervous, but not as much as her twin. Max had stopped pacing, but he had turned white and started to quake. Shaking her head, the woman sighed at her older brother.

"It's going to be a great day, Maxamillion." Kate teased, hearing the dull roar of the early morning commuters beginning to rush through the city. The doors of the bakery were kept open, the early fall air was still warm and helped waft the fresh scent of baked goods out into the busy street. Chuckling as her brother jumped as he heard Audrey, one of their workers, take the first order ever, the mutant woman decided that she would go make Max some hot chocolate to calm him down.

* * *

By winter, the bakery was a hit in the city. '_The Irish Trojan'_ was getting great business. Max was still nervous; five months of good business was not enough proof that his dream was blossoming. Kate was keeping a positive outlook, which seemed to keep Max on track. It had taken the baker over a month for him to realize that his dream was coming true: he was in New York, his bakery was open, and he and Kate were together.

Kate had slowly started unpacking and decorating their apartment as soon as they had hired more bakers. The two bedroom, one bath, and one living room/kitchenette was decorated in light tans, whites, and very light, bright teals. The decorations were a little sparse, but Kate was sure that in time they would figure out the layout of their new home.

During the day, Max managed the café, helped bake, and just helped out where he could. At night, he would rest up, check their ingredient supplies, and check the books. Kate spent her days picking up little ingredients that they weren't having delivered in bulk by large food trucks and sometimes she made the hot and specialty drinks for customers. She often stayed around the front, making sure there was no funny business happening.

True to his word from when they were kids, Max made sure that Kate was the guard.

During the night, Kate would bake the breakfast pastries fresh for the next day and head downstairs to check out the bakery. She had a lot of free time on most days, which she spent exploring the city. Her nomadic movements didn't bother Max all that much. He knew that Kate liked to know the area around her and that she hadn't been able to use the extent of her powers, which was making her antsy.

Kate and Max had spent most of their time growing up in the woods behind their home, practicing her mutant powers. She was strong, she was fast, and she was agile. Plus, the 39-inch wide, 53-inch long antlers that she could grow out of her head were quite the weapon, as she displayed with the cougar. Kate had only had to guard the store once, and that was only to scare away a few younger teenagers who were fiddling around with the locked back door.

All she needed to do was pick one up and toss him against the brick wall of the back alley, and the whole group was sent running. Kate didn't bother calling the cops or telling her brother. She didn't want to worry him.

All was going well until one day in the early winter.

* * *

Kate's POV:

"Another large hot chocolate with a shot of espresso, Miss McGuiness!" Robin, one of our newest employees, shouted to me from the counter. I was working behind the counter, whipping up all the drink orders as they were shouted at me.

"Whipped cream, Miss Turner?" I called back, pouring the shot of espresso into the thick hot chocolate. None of that nestle powdered crap here.

"Extra!" Robin shouted, a giggle in her voice. I smiled, quickly spraying an extra-large swirl of whipped cream on the drink before popping the top on. I slid a cardboard sleeve onto the cup before passing it to Robin, who thanked me quickly. Dusting the chocolate shavings off onto my black waist-apron, I stepped towards the door that led to the large kitchen in the back.

"I'm goin' out for a while. I promised Max that I'd make us some lasagna with meat sauce for dinner and I just realized we have no ground beef upstairs." I said to Robin and the four other workers. It was eight at night, just two hours before we closed for the night. Max was upstairs sick with a cold that was not as bad as he was making it out to be.

Jason, a large meathead with a sweet disposition offered to walk me to the market and back, but I politely refused. It was starting to snow and who knows how bad it's gonna get out there. Plus, I wanted Max to actually be awake when dinner was ready, and I knew that it was going to take me at least an hour to cook everything up.

I replaced my sneakers for a pair of combat boots and shrugged on my felt lined coat. New York City in the winter was gorgeous. All the lights and sounds of people buying rip off watches and boot leg movies.

So glad Max dragged me here.

It took me a little longer than usual to pick up what I needed from the store because of the snow and people rushing around. I turned the corner of our block at 10:20 and was quite surprised to see the lights on. Sure, our upstairs lights were on at this time, but we always turned the bakery lights off as soon as we shut up shop.

Feeling my gut start to roll with nerves, I hastened my walk. I clutched my paper bag to my chest as I pushed open the front door, further dismayed to find that it was closed, but unlocked.

"Max?" I called nervously, placing the paper bag on one of the bakery counters. I heard a strange noise coming from the kitchen, kind of a dull thudding. Like someone was tapping their foot on the ground. Growling, I felt the strange sensation of my antlers starting to form as I jumped over the clear counter with ease.

"Maxamillion!" I shouted, shouldering the swinging door to the kitchen open. All seemed calm and right in the kitchen, except for that obnoxious thumping sound. Was one of the industrial sized ovens about to blow?

I headed towards the row of ovens with my hands stuffed in the pockets of my jeans. I swear if an oven blows up and I have to take a day off to regenerate my burnt off face, I'm going to be pissed. Just as I was about to sneer at the ovens, I looked down.

"MAX!" I howled, throwing myself to my hands and knees beside my brother. He was on the ground in a pool of his own blood! I cried, rolling him onto his back and running my hands over his bloody face.

"P-police…" Max mumbled through his busted lips. Horrified, I scrambled for my cell phone. I called the police and concentrated on sucking my antlers back in. I stayed at Max's side, trying to wipe as much blood away from his face as I could.

"Miss McGuiness?" I heard someone shout from the front of the store. Shakily, I called back and told them to come into the kitchen. Three EMTs and two police officers came rushing into the room, rushing over to my brother and I.

"Miss, what happened?" One of the police officers asked as the ambulance workers raced to my brother's side. One of them went to go get a stretcher so they could bring him into the ambulance, and my head was spinning so badly that I barley could answer the cop.

"I w-went out to get dinner and when I came back, he was just…_on the ground_!" I tried to hold it together, but the end of my sentence turned into a sob. I was scared and confused, and my brother being unconscious and being loaded into an ambulance didn't make me understand the situation any more.

"Let's go. You can ride with us to the hospital." One of the cops said, a man with soft brown eyes. He wrapped his arm around my shoulders and helped me stabilize myself on my feet. I shook softly, trying to control myself as the cop opened the back door of his cruiser. His partner slid into the back seat with me, a pad of paper and a pencil at the ready.

"Miss, I'm Officer Zaragoza. Can you tell me if there's anyone who would want to do this to your brother?" Officer Zaragoza, a young man with bright blue eyes and thick eye brows, said as his partner got into the driver's seat.

"N-no." I whimpered, curling in on myself. "We only moved here a few m-months ago. We haven't really made any friends yet. We…we're friends with the other local bakeries. There's e-enough customers to go around, ya k-know? There's not a lot of animosity."

"Where did you two move from, Miss?" Officer Zaragoza said, scribbling down on his pad.

"Upstate. About two hours north or so. From Troy, it's a little city by the capital." I said, rubbing my face as the bright lights of the ambulance shone ahead of us.

"No unruly customers?" Officer Zaragoza asked, looking very sympathetic. I couldn't help but let out a slightly shaky laugh.

"It's New York, babe. Most of our customers come _in_ unruly. But no, there hasn't been any instances of violence." I said dully, shaking my head. I couldn't even comprehend anyone who would want to hurt my brother. Everyone who knows Max just loves him. He's so bright, delightfully optimistic, and child-like.

"Alright," Officer Zaragoza said as we pulled up to the hospital. "Let's head in. Officer Vu can park and then he'll meet us upstairs, kay?"

"Sounds like a plan." I said, crossing my arms over my chest and holding my elbows. Officer Zaragoza, who told me to call him Alec, walked with me into the sterilized scented death tower that is known as a hospital. I subconsciously hunched my shoulders and tried to make myself seem as small as possible.

"Hate hospitals?" Alec guessed, leading us to an elevator.

"Doctors. Not a fan of them." I said honestly, nervously shifting from foot to foot. "How are you going to catch the assholes that hurt my brother?"

"Officer Vu and I are going to question him as soon as the doctors and nurses let us. We have a group of forensic officers scoping out for the usual things you've seen on TV crime shows. Finger prints, shoe prints, blood, spit. Double check anything that looks out of place." Alec answered sincerely, which made me feel better.

We made it up to the waiting room after the short ride in the suffocating elevator. There wasn't much to do but slump in the slightly comfortable waiting room chairs and watch the clock tick away. Officer Vu, named Chau, entered a few minutes later. He said nothing as he sat down next to us, scribbling away at his pad with his cell phone to his ear.

"No forced entry. Perp came in through the unlocked front entrance. They seemed to force their way into the kitchen and assaulted Mister McGuiness. No blood was left, but some foot prints and a few finger prints were. They're being searched through the system." Chau Vu said softly after he hung up the phone. He ran his hand through his very short black hair, a look of concentration on his face.

"We usually close _exactly_ at ten. We lock the doors and shut off the lights. All the workers leave at 9:40-ish. Max and I work on the books and finances upstairs in the apartment. There's not a soul in the bakery after 10:05." I said, becoming frustrated. We'd been waiting for what seemed like hours, but it had barley been one.

"Someone either knew your pattern or just was lucky." Alec grunted, to which Chau nodded his head and wrote down more notes. We were silent for another hour or so. It dragged on painfully slow and I was losing my sense of what to do with myself. I'd tried reading, but I couldn't concentrate. I'd tried going out to get some air, but the chilly winter air could only help so much. I tried going downstairs to the hospital's café to get something to drink, but I knew my stomach wouldn't be able to handle even the mildest of drinks.

"Officers?" A nurse said, a clip board clutched between her hands. Chau and Alec looked up at the nurse, who smiled softly.

"Mister McGuiness is awake. Would you like to question him? He's already asking for Miss McGuiness." The nurse, wearing cute little turtle scrubs, said while turning to open the doors for us. Alec nodded to me and offered me his hand.

The nurse led us to a bed that was sectioned off with green curtains. The officers and I stepped into the curtained off room, where Max was sitting up in bed. I took up a seat by his left side and grabbed his rough hand. Max smiled, his eyes bright, even though he looked very tired. His lips were swollen and red, but they weren't bleeding anymore. He was covered in bruises, butterfly bandages, and a few stitches, but he seemed awake and kicking.

Maybe not kicking just yet, but I felt an instantaneous rush of relief.

"How're you feeling, Mister McGuiness?" Chau asked, grabbing a seat by Max's other side. Alec sat beside him, a smile on his face. Max shifted a little in the bed, wincing as he hit a sore spot on his back. I frowned as I looked at the IV that was placed in his arm. He doesn't need the doctors any more, he needs to come home.

Which…debatably isn't as safe as I previously thought it was.

"Fantastic, Officer." Max chuckled, rolling his shoulders. "Ready to go home. I guess you guys have questions?"

"Yes we do, Mister McGuiness-" Alec said, but was quickly cut off by my lunatic brother.

"Well, I like long walks on a dirty beach. Chocolate covered peanuts. Really bad crime dramas-"

"Questions about what happened, you ding-dong." I scoffed, rolling my eyes playfully at Max. Thank god whoever beat him didn't smash his quirky spirits. I couldn't help but smile as Max began to pout, crossing his bruised arms over his chest, but nodded to Chau to start his questions.

"Yeah, I know why they did it. Big group a' guys, four or five." Max began when Chau asked what had happened. "Said they were some kind of gang. Said if I paid them five-hundred bucks a week that they'd keep patrol of the bakery and make sure no one robbed us."

"Someone's trying to shake us down?" I growled, furrowing my brow in anger. Max snorted, waving me off in his usual carefree way.

"I told 'em thanks, but no thanks. My_ loverly_ sister here is the perfect guard. Didn't need 'em. As soon as I told them that, one pulled out a bat and just went at me. I would have kicked their asses, but I had my back turned." Max shrugged, as if there was nothing to worry about. Sometimes his carefree personality really bothered me.

"Did you know any of these men?" Alec asked, fiddling with his pager.

"Nope. Never seen 'em before." Max shrugged. "Can I get my hands on one of those release forms? I just would love to go home and sleep."

"Of course, Maxie. I'll go get those and I'll call the workers. We'll stay closed for a few days." I said, sitting up and leaving his curtained off room before he could tell me no. Max would want to stay open, but there was no way it would work with just me managing. _The Irish Trojan_ is Max's baby; I can't possibly run it up to par without him.

Max was going to be under medical watch for a few more hours; just to make sure that there was no internal damage. Our employees understood and wished Max well, and I told them they were welcome to come back to work in three days. All the ER nurses were extremely polite and very personable. By the time I had made my way back to Max's room, his doctor was explaining how he should re-wrap his bandages, what the early signs of infection were, and when he would need to return to have his stitches removed.

"Would you like a ride back home?" Chau asked politely as a nurse helped Max stand. His clothes had to be thrown away because of how saturated they were with blood. All he had to wear was the hospital gown and some hospital booties.

I still don't think he'd be the strangest person a cabbie's ever picked up, but I wasn't about to turn down a free ride in a cruiser.

By the time the two Officers dropped us off back home, it was around four in the morning. The climb up the stairs took forever, since it hurt Max with every step he took. I had his arm thrown over my shoulder, and he would wince into the crook of my neck every few steps.

"Well, we've made good progress." I joked as soon as I helped Max slip into a pair of sweatpants. "How about I make you something? Anything you want. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert?"

"Sticky buns. Lots of syrup. Cooooofffeeeee!" Max groaned, laying on his bed, atop his covers.

"Whatever you want, boss." I said softly, walking out of his room. The apartment was silent as I escaped into my own little world while I baked. While the sun rose, I had made fresh biscuit dough, layered a pan with the biscuits, and smothered them with syrup, cinnamon, and brown sugar.

While those were baking, I made a hot pot of coffee and made myself some Irish tea. Max was sleeping when I went in to ask what he would like in his coffee. The coffee would stay hot and fresh on the burner for a few hours and he needed at least an hour of shut eye before taking any kind of stimulant.

When eight o'clock rolled around, the sticky buns were cooled; but still slightly warm from the oven. I poured Max a big cup of coffee, adding a few teaspoons of whiskey and a big splash of heavy cream. Max was slowly waking up when I stepped into his room. He was groggy, rubbing his eyes with the back of his wrapped hand.

"Happy morning." I said quietly, placing his coffee and sticky buns on his bedside table. Max smiled, showing off all of his teeth. He popped a few extra strength Tylenols, but said he was feeling alright. I stayed with him while he ate, made sure he was comfortable, and then put him back to bed.

* * *

**FIVE DAYS LATER **

Kate was starting to get antsy.

After three days, Max was still battered, but back on his feet and running his dream bakery with an iron fist. All of the employees were elated that their boss was back to business. Regular customers poured into the shop, relieved that the bakery wasn't closed for good and that everyone was in _relatively_ good health.

There was one thing bothering Kate though.

Not one person had called. Not Officer Alec Zaragoza. Not Officer Chau Vu. Not one person called to give her any kind of updates. By the next week, Kate had had enough. Before the lunch rush could hit, she started to get ready.

"Hot date?" Max asked, as he came into the apartment to grab one of his extra aprons out of the drier. Kate huffed, tossing her curled hair over her shoulder. Pursing her lips, Kate adjusted her faux brown fur vest over her burgundy v-neck. Her black skirt and plain black tights were crisp, and her four inch boots looked lethal.

"No, boss. I'm headed down to the police station." Kate said, dusting a little golden shadow over her teal orbs. Max smirked, not used to seeing his baby sister all dressed up. She was usually a jeans, yoga pants, leggings, funny t-shirts, combat boots kind of girl.

"Then why are you dressed up?" Max asked, leaning against the door frame. "Gonna get fresh with some of the good officers in blue?"

"Of course not, Maxie." Kate chuckled darkly, running a bullet of dark, deep red lipstick over her slightly chapped lips. "You catch more flies with honey."

"Don't go becoming someone's honey just yet!" Max cackled before sprinting back down into the bakery. Kate rolled her eyes, capping her lipstick and double checking herself in the mirror. She grabbed her subway card and stuffed it into her black wristlet before heading down to the precinct.

The police station was a hive of activity when Kate arrived. The auburn-blonde side stepped many a criminal and police officer. She soon found a nice looking officer sitting at a desk, who seemed happy to help her.

"Hi. I'm Kathleen McGuiness. My brother, Max, was assaulted a few weeks ago. I haven't heard anything and I was wondering if there have been any leads?" Kate asked softly, smiling sweetly at the young officer. The officer seemed star struck by the mutant, and quickly turned to her desktop computer.

"L-let me check our database." The officer said, her fingers flying over the aged key board.

"Thank you, Officer…?" Kate let the question hang, crossing one leg over the other.

"Palmer. Officer Sarah Palmer." Officer Palmer said, her brow furrowing as she tried to concentrate on the computer files.

"It seems here that your brother's case has been closed." Officer Palmer said, showing Kate her screen.

"Closed? But no one's been caught." Kate deadpanned, but quickly turned back on the charm. "Could you check why it's closed?"

"I'm really not supposed to give away that information." Officer Palmer said, biting her bottom lip. Kate smiled, even though she was internally screaming in irritation, and softly fluttered her eyes at the young, blonde haired, grey eyed officer.

"He's my brother, Officer Palmer. Can't you tell me anything? Please, don't let us slip through the cracks." Kate layered on the sugar and honey in her voice. She tilted her head in such a way that she knew the lighting would reflect off her eyes, making them shine an almost supernatural shade of neon teal. Officer Palmer blinked, her cheeks turning a nice shade of pink.

"I-it says here that we know the gang. They call themselves the Blue Crowns, they've been hitting up shops and stores all throughout Manhattan. It says here that there's been a dead end. It would be useless to further the investigation." Officer Palmer said, watching the beautiful woman that sat beside her.

"Why did no one call us and tell us that?" Kate pouted, pursing her lips.

"We've been…having problems with paperwork and things being misplaced." Officer Palmer grimaced, seeing the almost immediate change in Miss McGuiness' attitude. Her teal eyes that had once been so soft had become cold, her once poised posture became slack and almost lazy dog-like posture.

"So you've forgotten about us?" Her once sultry voice was now low and slightly rough. Officer Palmer had to almost pinch herself; she was so unprepared for such a quick personality swap.

"Of c-course not, Miss McGuiness! We simply cannot cover every low profile case-"

"So we're not high-profile enough? Great." Kate hissed, narrowing her teal eyes. Officer Palmer could feel a blast of ice go down her spine from the look of disgust she received. "I'll handle it myself now."

"Miss? Miss! I must warn you that it's illegal to take the law into your own hands!" Palmer said, hurriedly standing up from her desk to follow the auburn-blonde. Kate's heels clicked loudly against the tile floor and her hips swung dangerously.

"Who do you expect to get shit done when the police won't do their damned jobs? Pathetic." Kate hissed, turning her back on the police department and breezing out of the prescient. Kate strode down the snow and ice covered side walk, looking so fierce that surly New Yorkers actually moved out of her way.

Kate was on the war path.

* * *

"Let it go, Bambi." Max groaned, exhausted. He couldn't care less that the cops dropped the case. It was over, and if those thugs ever came back, Kate would shish kabob them.

"It's the principal of it, Maxie." Kate growled, shaking her head. She was getting so angry that Max could see the beginnings of her antlers protruding through her thick crown of hair. Max chuckled, earning a glare from his mutant twin.

"If you're gonna let the coat hangers come out to play, either step away from the windows or put on a convincing deer costume." Max chuckled, watching as Kate angrily tugged on the deep teal drapes. Kate began to pace their main room, her high heeled boots and fur vest tossed into the corner.

"I'm thinking for Christmas, we should walk around Times Square. You can be a reindeer and I can be Santa! C'mon! It'll be awesome!" Max chuckled, his laughter growing louder as Kate's antlers formed and fully appeared.

"This is serious, Max." Kate scoffed, rolling her eyes.

"Then do something about it. If there's something bothering you, there are two things you can do: accept it or change it." Max said casually, stretching out his legs onto the coffee table.

"How?" Kate stressed, her antlers smacking into a lamp. Kate yelped, quickly stabilizing the light source before returning to pacing around the room.

"Pull a Spider-Man. Go out there." Max shrugged, stretching his arms over his head. Kate heard a satisfying pop of his spine. Kate was about to tell Max how stupid of an idea that was, but she stopped short.

"That, my dear brother…is an awful idea. A brilliantly _awful _idea."

"Are you quoting The Grinch?"

* * *

**_Kate's POV_**

I'd thought and thought over my brother's plan, but I kept coming up with reasons why I shouldn't play vigilante. It was illegal and it was dangerous. I could tell that Max was getting irritated with my wishy-washy attitude, but this wasn't picking out which kind of shoes to wear in the morning! This was picking to either break the law or obey it!

"Bambi, you can do this." Max said, leaning against the kitchen counter as I sat pouting at the kitchen table. "Remember all those fighting classes you took? All those fighting clubs at school? All those tournaments? Fighting camps? It's like you were being bred for this!"

"_Noooo_. Da' let me do all that because he thought it would make me safer. It made him sleep better at night." I said softly, thumbing the handle of my tea mug. "And _she_ liked it because it got me out of her hair."

"Da' thought you were going to run away in the middle of the night to become a cage fighter. We figured you'd go missing and then one day we'd see you on TV in a pair of sparkle tights." Max smirked, reaching into the cupboard for something to eat.

"Not sparkle." I chuckled, knocking back the rest of my tea.

"Before you go, check your bed." Max said, ripping open a silver packet of pop tarts.

"My bed?" I asked, tilting my head. Max snorted, slowly nodding his head and pointing to my room. Slowly, nervous that he was playing one of his pranks on me again, I tiptoed into my bedroom. Once, he'd thrown rubber snakes over the shower curtain while I was taking a shower. I almost pissed and fell in that damn shower. Never trust that crafty brother of mine.

Everything in my room seemed in order, except for the strange outfit laid out on my bed. It was a tight, army green shirt that felt like it was made of under armor. The neck was a wide oval and the tops of the shoulders had been cut out. There was a one strap, bronze-leather corset. The one strap piece was thick, and it looked like it would fix perfectly. There was also a pair of very thick, army green pants and a pair of simple bronze combat boots.

_"Woah."_ I said, quickly pulling off my yoga pants and putting on my new…_costume_? It wasn't a superhero suit, so I guess costume would have to do. But that sounded so childish. Disguise, maybe?

I managed to slide into the corset with unexpected ease, and I was surprised by how comfortable the outfit was. I hadn't noticed that there was a hood attached to the back of the shirt, with two holes cut in the fabric where my antlers would be.

"Great! Everything fits!" Max said, barging in my room without knocking. "Now, some precautions."

Precautions? I didn't even know Max knew what that meant. My brother was the type to throw caution to the wind and very rarely had a plan, let alone a plan B.

With a smirk, Max produced a slew of weapons. He stuffed two strange looking knives into one of my back pockets and pulled out two very small guns. They were so small that they were almost cute. Like a little doll's gun.

"These are not toys." Max said, almost reading my mind as he strapped a gun to each of my hips, tucking them into a special slot in the waistband of my pants. "These are two Smith&Wesson model 36 revolver handguns. They're also known as hooker pistols. They each can shoot five rounds, so only use these when you have no other way out. You have extra ammo in your left zipper pockets.

"Max…are you some secret weapons specialist?" I asked, feeling awed. Max snickered, pulling out one of the knives he had placed in my back pocket.

"These are spring powered ballistic knives. Work them like regular knives, but when you press this latch:" Max said, pulling on a small latch, causing the knife blade to separate from the handle and go flying across the room. "Thought you'd like to have a weapon that can jump like you."

"I can't see you needing any other weapons. You've already got your antlers."

I nodded, smirking. It was time to test out how good I could be.

* * *

Kate spent the next few weeks playing vigilante during the night. She had faced enough street fights and had won them all; even though she earned enough scrapes and bruises. She had learned little by little about the Blue Crowns, and had even managed to beat the junk out of some of the gang members.

Kate struck gold one night. She had cornered four Blue Crown members, and she knew that one of them was the gang leader's third hand man. Wasn't as good as finding the leader himself, but she was lucky to find a foot hold.

"Which one of you is Marshall Beyus?" She asked, her eyes covered by her hood. She had the four gang members cornered in a deserted and dark alley, and she could see that the gangsters were getting nervous.

"Dat's me." A short man with long brown hair said, wearing basketball shorts and a torn white shirt. His arms were covered in dark blue tattoos and his eyes were very dark. Kate cracked her neck and took a threatening step forwards.

"You wanna fight, bitch?" one of Marshall's buddies asked, sneering at the disguised woman.

"Let's play." Kate smirked, fully prepared when one of Marshall's lackeys came rushing at her. Kate quickly grabbed him by his wrist and used his own weight to spin him around. She then grabbed his elbow and ripped it backwards, breaking the man's arm. Using her knee, she kicked him to the ground, and he fell unconscious as his forehead smashed into the cement.

"Who's next?" Kate asked, not even out of breath. Marshall's two other men bolted, and Kate let them run past. Marshall pressed himself against the brick wall, unable to run as the woman began to close in on him.

"Where's your boss?" Kate asked, feeling the intense pressure of her antlers wanting to come out.

"Why ya' wanna know?!" Marshall spat, watching the muscles in the woman's jaw clench.

"You've been breaking into stores and hurting people." Kate drawled, careful not to give away too much information. If she revealed that it was her brother that had been hurt, or even the bakery, the Blue Crowns could use that to retaliate against her.

"We's gotta live, too!" Marshall said nervously.

"By living off other people? Lazy." Kate spat, taking another step closer. "How do you choose your next target?"

"Boss! Boss chooses!" Marshall cried, seeing the woman reach for something in her back pocket. "H-he's got a big family…h-he sends them out t-ta work in the shops. D-dey learn all 'bout the stores and tell us da details. W-we don't go afta' stores dat refuse us though! Just give 'em a good beatin' and head on. No use gettin' personal when dere's thousands 'a stores ta' hit."

Kate held in an internal sigh of relief. She had always been worried about the gang members returning and hurting her brother for his refusal, but it seemed like the Blue Crowns were only one hit wonder thugs. But, she was worried about what Marshall said about this guy's family, scoping out stores.

"What's his name?" Kate asked, standing toe-to-toe with the man. Marshall huffed, his dark eyes wide.

"I…uhh…I-I…" Marshall stuttered, looking for some way out. Kate snorted and took a step back, causing Marshall to let out a sigh of relief. That sigh quickly turned into a high pitched scream as the woman before him began to mutate.

Her massive antlers sprouted from her skull like branches, Kate tucked her head down and butted Marshall against the brick wall. Her points clacked loudly against the brick, and Marshall could feel the intense pressure of antler against his skin. The sharp antlers held him against the brick, his hands pinned down with a sharp point poised over each of his wrists, and mere centimeters away from his chest and throat.

"L-lady! W-what are you?!" He screeched, too terrified to being impaled to move.

"Give me a name." Kate taunted, her head tucked down, but her eyes trained on the gangster. She knew enough to never take your eye off an opponent.

"Turner! His name is Louis Turner!" Marshall cried, beginning to shake. "He's got twenty cousins! Mike, Thelma, DJ, Don, Chris, Russ, Emily, Chessie, Edwardo, Sydney, Robin, Blake, Brendon, Brandon, James, Nicole, Amy, Omid, Jessie, and Andy! "

"I didn't ask for a family tree. Where can I find him?" Kate hissed, picking her head up and taking her antlers away from Marshall. Up close, Kate was able to realize why Marshall was so short. The kid was probably fresh out of high school, maybe still in school.

"Only his family members would know! Find one of his cousins, you'll find him!" Marshall croaked, watching in wonder as the woman's branch like antlers slowly sunk back into her skull. He'd heard about people like her, mutants. A dangerous bunch.

"Get out of here. Get out of this gang. You're too young. Please, what would your mother say?" Kate said softly, cocking her head to the side. Marshall frowned, his head tilted down. It seemed that she had hit a nerve.

"My mom…my mom's really sick. I'm a minor and not a lot of people wanna hire me cause of all de' laws 'bout minors working." Marshall said, his voice choking up with emotion. Kate frowned, scuffing her boot along the ground. Kate nervously turned to look at the opening of the alley before she took another step closer.

"You know the tea lounge on 64th street? It's called Alice's Tea Cup. Meet me there tomorrow morning. We'll see what I can do about a job." Kate hissed quietly, tipping back her hood a little so Marshall could look into her eyes. "I'm sticking my neck out for you kid, so you better not try to fuck me."

"N-no! No fuckery here!" Marshall whimpered, catching sight of the two handguns that were at the woman's hips. "I'll bring my resume an' everything."

Kate frowned and nodded her head. She knew it was stupid and dangerous, but she knew she wasn't going to be able to sleep at night if she sent this boy out into the world. It felt too much like she was feeding him to the wolves.

"C'mon. I'll walk you home."

* * *

**_Kate's POV: _**

It was a few weeks till Christmas, and we were swamped with orders. People were ordering all kinds of platters to take home for the holidays, so business was going well. Marshall had turned out to be telling the truth. I had met his mother when I had walked him home and she was very ill. Marisol Beyus kept wheezing and coughing violently, and Marshall had whispered to me that she had cancer.

Marshall was a very strong and very loving fifteen year old.

He'd proven to be a competent worker. We kept him in the back doing grunt work as of now, but he had shown promise. He was deeply grateful for the job and he was always so polite and sweet. I couldn't believe that this sweet, loving boy was the street urchin I threatened in the alley.

That wasn't my problem right now though.

"Maxie?" I asked, watching my brother start helping the workers clean up the store.

"Bambino?" Max called back, sweeping some flour into a garbage pail.

"Have Robin Turner take the garbage out." I demanded, watching the girl that I had once thought was a sweet little girl joke around with another worker.

"She's the one?" Max asked, narrowing his eyes at the girl's back. I had gone through her records, and Miss Robin Turner did indeed have twenty cousins, one named Louis.

She was our narc.

I kept quiet as I slunk into the back alley and awaited Miss Turner to join me.

* * *

**_Max's POV _**

Kate creeped me out when she melted into the shadows. It wasn't natural. Rolling my eyes, I called over for Robin to take out the garbage. Robin rolled her eyes, but did as she was told. A lot of people thought she was a nice girl, but I was able to see right through her shit.

Robin was taking a long time to throw out the trash and by the time she returned, all the other workers had left for home. Robin eventually stumbled back into the bakery, unharmed, but shaken. Kate must have had fun ripping her psyche to pieces.

"You're fired, Miss Turner." I smiled as brightly as I could. Robin seemed shocked, but quickly raced out the door. Before she could take four steps, a small group of cop cars were cornering her. Kate slid back into the store, a small frown

"You call the cops?" She said, her eyes watching the cruisers carefully.

"Just like you asked. You find out where Turner is hiding?" I asked, cracking my neck.

"Of course." Kate smirked, shrugging her shoulders. "You know I always get my work done."

"Sure, Bambino. I know you're a whiz at interrogations. Go on out and play, I know how much you want to. Just be careful; it's cold out and Christmas is only two days away. Some real freaks are out and about this time of year." I warned, not feeling too concerned. Kate could handle herself out there, I just liked mentioning the dangers that she might face. As always, my sister didn't bat an eyelash, just smiled.

"I'll be home for Christmas."

That was the last thing she said as she pulled down her hood and dashed off into New York City's busy streets.

* * *

**_Kate's POV_**

I had followed Robin Turner's directions to a T. The seedy motel wasn't where I expected the king pin of the Blue Crowns to be hiding. Room 6 is where Louis Turner lived, thankfully alone. I managed to hunker down outside his motel and wait until dark. Thankfully, the sun set at 5 o'clock and Louis decided that today would be a good day to come home early. I watched as his taxi cab pulled up and let him out at his door.

Louis Turner was a man that looked more like a department store mannequin than a gangster. Tanned skin, trimmed beard, slicked brown hair, and almond shaped grey eyes. His good looks weren't going to get him out of this sticky situation though. I struck as soon as he unlocked his door. I bum rushed him to the cement. He was conscious, but dazed.

"Good evening, Mister Tuner." I said, cracking my knuckles. Louis' eyes widened and he quickly got to his feet and took a swing at my face. I quickly ducked and placed an elbow jab into his side. Louis sagged and stumbled backwards, which gave me an opening to put my foot at the back of his knee and tug his leg towards me, knocking him off balance. Louis landed on his ass with a loud thunk.

"You're good." Louis chuckled, rubbing at his side. I barley was able to leap back as he pulled out a knife from his jacket. "Not good enough."

He took another lunge at me, which I evaded. The smell of his sweat mixed with adrenaline rushed into my senses, telling me that he was in this for the long fight. Snarling, I ducked and managed to land a blow against his jaw. He hissed, slashing his knife across my left cheek. Not showing pain, I took another step closer and elbowed him in the throat.

"Better than you." I teased, watching as his other hand disappeared into his jacket. I was prepared for him to have another knife, but I wasn't ready for the gun. I let out a gasp as a round went off by my ear. I felt the fire ant feeling in my feet as I pushed off the ground, jumping onto the roof of a nearby Jeep.

"Holy…what are you?" Louis said, seeing me crouching on the roof of the jeep, about forty feet away. He didn't give me time to answer before he began shooting. I started jumping from car to car, hearing metal dent and glass shatter behind me. Tugging my hood to make sure it was secure; I let my antlers come out to play.

"It's over. Put the gun down before someone innocent gets hurt." I hissed, feeling the muscles in my thighs coil for another jump. When was this guy going to run out of bullets? Louis sneered at me, pointing the gun at me and firing. I let the coils in my muscles release and I went soaring off the roof of a cute little buick. I landed on the metal overhang above his door, by boots making a large bang. Pain rocketed through my forearm, and I looked down to see a clean hole through it. Wincing, I grabbed the edge of the overhang and swung down, kicking Louis in the chest on the down swing.

He went flying into his front door. He knocked it in, blood pouring out of his mouth. I steadied myself on my feet before I pulled my cell phone out of my back pocket and dialed the police. After the first ring, a soft voice almost made me jump out of my skin.

"You…you stopped him."

Turning to the side, I looked towards the open door of motel room number five. An elderly woman with salt and pepper hair stood in her doorway, clutching the molding. She looked scared, but somehow _hopeful_ at the same time.

"Yeah." I said, making my voice more gruff than normal. The sooner the police are on their way, the sooner I can make a clean get away.

"He's been terrorizing the neighborhood. Scaring my grandbabies and everyone else." The elderly woman said, opening her door wider. Four pairs of eyes appeared at her feet, all wide eyed children. I heard more doors open as people came out of their rooms. Some began to cheer and cry in relief as they saw Louis Turner knocked out on the ground.

I bet they won't be so happy when they see how they shot up their cars.

"I know the feeling." I said, remembering the terror I felt when I had found Max in a puddle of his own blood. The thought of these people living in such fear everyday disturbed me. No one, especially a child, should ever have to live like this.

"I've got to go." I whispered, seeing faint red and blue lights coming around the bend. I nodded my head to the elderly woman before crouching down and leaping as high as I could into the air. I landed on the roof of the hotel with a _thunk_, and began sprinting over the rooftops.

City lights flew by me as I leapt from rooftop to rooftop. I felt myself lift from the ground almost weightlessly at every jump, and I couldn't help the huge smile that crossed my face as I realized that I wasn't just jumping; I was gliding.

Sure, flying would have been better, but gliding was just fine.

* * *

Louis Turner; along with all of his gang members and his cousins, were arrested. The NYPD couldn't figure out who kept delivering them the unconscious Blue Crown members, but it made their lives easier. Louis Turner and his cohorts were off the streets, and no one knew anything about the strange woman that put an end to his crime spree.

Officer Sarah Palmer had been one of the first officers to arrive on scene at the seedy motel. She had seen the Blue Crown king pin get carted into an ambulance and witnessed as all of Turner's neighbors began to celebrate his capture. When the police officers asked why none of the neighbors reported him to the police, many of them replied that they _had,_ but that their reports had been 'lost'.

That wasn't shocking when they found out that one of Louis Turner's cousins, Amy Greak (nee Turner), was working at the police station.

"Hey! Senora! _Senora mujer policia_!" A little boy called from the shadow of his grandmother's dress.

"Yes, sir?" Officer Palmer asked, bending on one knee to be eye level with the little boy.

"I saw her! _La mujer renos_!" The little boy cried, talking about a 'reindeer lady'. Officer Palmer looked up at the boy's grandmother for conformation. The elderly woman nodded, placing her hand on her grandson's head.

"She saved us! Flew off! _Saltó alta_!" The little boy said, pointing to the rooftops to show just how high the mystery woman jumped.

"What do you think her name is?" Officer Palmer asked, writing down the boy's quote. The little boy thought for a second. He turned towards his home, where he saw the little reindeer stickers that his grandma had let him and his sisters stick on the window. He began to hum a slow Christmas song, the first name of a reindeer made him smile wide.

"Dasher! Like Santa's reindeer!"

* * *

"Yes, we'll have the Avengers initiative up and running in a matter of months." Nick Fury mumbled to himself as he paced his quarters. Manila folders were strewn about his desk. Almost all of them had been denied or accepted for his Avengers initiative.

Fury had his super solider, who'd bring experience, leadership, strength, and tactical support. He had Agent Romanoff, who'd bring her guns, espionage, language, ruthlessness, and government intelligence to the team. Agent Barton, who'd bring his excellent eye, security info, above average reflexes, interrogation skills, weapons training and designing.

He had Bruce Banner, The Hulk, who'd bring almost super human intellect along with super human strength, invulnerability to almost all weapons conceived, adaptive skills, and the ability to hide in plain sight. Then he had Thor, demi-god, who'd bring endurance, his thunder, his magic, and incredibly skills with the art of war, close combat, and hand to hand combat.

He just felt like he was missing a few skills. He had the puzzle completed in his mind; he just needed another piece or two.

"Who else do we have?" Fury murmured to himself, practically throwing his exhausted body into his desk chair. Spider-Man, Wolverine, Beast, Crystal, Hercules, Mister Fantastic, Human Torch, Hellcat, Iron Man…..

"Who do we have here?" Fury said, picking at Iron Man's file. Tucked inside of Mister Stark's file was another file. It seemed like it had gotten stuck inside Iron Man's file by accident. Curious, Fury pulled the attached folders out of his drawer.

"Tony Stark…rejected. Iron Man…accepted." Fury said to himself with a smirk. His eye trailed to the second folder, where a picture of a young woman looked back at him.

"Kathleen McGuiness. Dasher." Fury said, kicking back in his chair. "Born in Upstate New York. Resident of Manhattan. Aggressive temperament while fighting. Calm and peaceful temperament at other times. Fighting techniques: bare knuckle boxing; collar-and-elbow (Irish wrestling), German ju-jutsu, and mixed martial arts, which include: boxing, judo, kickboxing, and muay tai."

As Nick Fury continued to read her profile, the more intruded he became.

"Abilities include, but are not limited to: above average durability, strength, agility, and reflexes. Super heightened sense of hearing and smell. Exceptional jumping and leaping abilities, longest length witnessed being 100 feet, and increasing. Also has been witnessed gliding for up to 80 feet before losing altitude." Fury continued murmuring off the file, even as Agent Hill and Romanoff entered his quarters.

"Miss McGuiness shows extensive knowledge in: evasive maneuvers, reconnaissance, smell and sound recognition, and disguise. Also shows average, if not slightly above average intelligence." Fury said, feeling more excited about this recruit by the minute.

"Weapons of choice: two spring knives, two hooker pistols,…and the two massive antlers that she can grow out of her skull." Fury said the last of the file and looked up at Agent Hill, who had been the agent to shadow the young woman.

"Dasher is a good candidate for the initiative, Director." Agent Hill said, clasping her arms behind her back. "She might need some convincing, but then again…so well Doctor Banner and Thor."

"Put her on the list. It's not every day that someone takes down a gang in a matter of months." Nick Fury said, tossing her file along with the rest of the candidates that he had chosen for the Avengers initiative. Fury bit into his lip as he looked at Tony Stark's file on his desk.

"Mister Stark could be a consultant." Agent Romanoff said softly from her place in the doorway. "Give advice. We could use another genius on the team."

Fury thought that was a great idea. With Stark, he'd get another boost of off the charts intelligence, not to mention Tony's mechanical engineering genius, that suit of his, his connections, and his money never hurt. With Dasher, he'd get an aggressive fighter, hyper senses, evasive maneuvers, street-connections, and those antlers were a plus.

He'd finished the puzzle.


	3. Chapter 3: Reindeer In The Sky

Thanks to all you lovelies that reviewed (: I'm glad you guys like the story!

(: Read and Review

* * *

**Kate **

"Kate, have you ever seen a pirate?" Jason, one of our employees asked as he placed the fresh peanut butter cookies into the display counter. I was in my usual spot, sitting on a tall swivel stool, parked right by the coffee and espresso station of the counter.

"Can't say I have. Maybe once during Halloween." I said, casually watching people through the large windows. Jason hummed, collecting empty trays and wiping crumbs off the glass counter. Leaning back and resting my elbows against the drink counter, I let my legs swing freely.

"Might I ask why, dearest Jason?" I asked, watching a school bus come rumbling down the street. It had been five months since the debacle with the Blue Crowns, and New York City was well on its way to summer. All the snow was gone and the temperature slowly began to rise. I had still been patrolling the streets, taking out individual criminals, but I left the big crime syndicates for the police to take down.

"Guy in the left hand corner. Eye-patch, lookin' really shifty," Jason said, the muscles in his arms bulging. "Do you want me to ask Marshall to come out here?"

"No, Jay-bird," I said, looking at the tall, dark, one-eyed, black man that was sitting in the corner, reading a newspaper. If he was trying to blend in, he wasn't doing it that well. I decided that the man wasn't hurting anybody, so he had every damn right to sit in my shop. I left him alone and he sat there for a few more hours with his coffee and newspaper.

* * *

**Kate**

"That eye-patch guy is here again." Marshall told me as he entered the kitchen. I was piping frosting onto some cupcakes, since it was a slow day. I looked up at the now sixteen year old, who was peering through one of the swinging door windows.

"Leave him alone, brat," I said fondly, finishing the last of the cupcakes. "That man comes in every few days and never causes any problems. He's givin' me money to make your paycheck."

"I know, but he's just…he gives me the creeps." Marshall said, a shudder running through him. I shrugged, putting the empty piping bag in the sink for it to be cleaned and refilled.

"We get a lot of strangers in here, brat. What about that one guy that thinks he's the reincarnation of Ghandi? Or that one lady that swears she invented Q-Tips?" I laughed, wiping my hands off on my waist apron.

Marshall didn't respond, just shrugged his slowly broadening shoulders. Marshall had blossomed further after a few months of preening. I'd been giving him his paychecks under the table in cash.

Illegal? Yes.

For a good cause? Yes.

If anyone asked, he was my cousin who liked to help out around the shop. His mother's health hadn't been getting any better either. There were some days when she had to spend nights at the hospital, and on those nights I had Marshall stay over on my couch. An empty apartment was no place for a growing boy.

Smiling, I pushed through the kitchen doors into the café. Only a few of the tables were being used, and along the bar, only one person sat. The man with the eye-patch.

"Miss McGuiness?" The man with the patch asked as I daydreamed at the counter. How had he lost his eye? Gun fight? Maybe it was a fake patch.

"That'd be me. What can I do for you, sir?" I asked politely, stepping closer to him. He smiled, but there was something hidden in that grin.

"My name is Nick Fury," The man said, his single eye peering into mine. "And I know who you are."

* * *

**Nick Fury **

Fury had to admit, McGuiness was quite the nut to crack.

Based on her file, he'd been expecting a big brute. The only photo that Agent Hill had taken of McGuiness was a close up of the woman's face. So, imagine Fury's color of surprise when a woman no taller than 5'3 stepped through the kitchen doors.

She didn't have an _'I have a secret'_ aura about her, like he had expected. Many vigilantes that he had met had a nervous air about them, like any second someone was going to swoop in and reveal their secret identity. McGuiness didn't have that feeling, if anything; she seemed like a calm civilian.

He'd been snooping the past weeks or so that he'd been coming in. He wanted to see her for himself and make the final decision about adding her to the initiative. Fury watched the woman during the day and then watched her become a vigilante as soon as the sun set.

What won Fury over was her temperament. When she was fighting, she was very aggressive, but knew when to give up the game. She also knew when to show mercy and compassion, as shown by the little ex-gangster she had employed. When she wasn't out on the streets, she was a compassionate, loyal, and loving person; of course that was hidden underneath loads of sarcasm, mistrust, and a little spattering of bitterness against the world.

"I have no clue what you mean, Mister Fury." McGuiness smiled at him when he first tried to oust her. She didn't bat an eyelash. Fury smiled when he noticed how she looked towards one of her employees for a millisecond; just to make sure he was out of hearing range.

"I'll have you know what you're doing is admirable." Fury praised, hoping he could win this woman over quickly.

"I've done nothing worth of admiration." Miss McGuiness smiled and laughed, seeming totally carefree.

"You call those little reindeer games you play at night nothing?" Fury said, cocking his head to the side. Miss McGuiness' smile slid off her face quickly, her teal eyes narrowing at the director in distrust.

"Watch your mouth." She hissed, mimicking Fury's head tilt. "We're in the middle of the damn day. You never know who is listening. Who's on the other side."

"Nervous about some revenge in the near future, Miss Dasher? You certainly won't be getting it from me. I'm Director Nick Fury, director of S.H.I.E.L.D." Fury said softly, being cautious about the level of his voice as he pulled out a small badge. Miss McGuiness let out a little smirk, but Fury could tell that she was tiptoeing around him. She was smart to be cautious, he'd give her that.

She knew that she was caught though and that there was no point in trying to lie anymore.

"Dasher…I still can't believe that shit," Miss McGuiness laughed. "So many kick ass super hero names, ya know? And I get named after Santa's goddamn reindeer. I can tell you and I are gonna have words, but before that, would 'ya like some more coffee?"

"If it's not too much trouble." Fury said, amused by Miss McGuiness' temperament. He figured she would have become surlier by the minute, but she once again surprised him. He watched as she poured him a cup of fresh coffee and poured herself a cup of tea. She dragged a stool over so she could sit across from him at the bar.

"So let's cut the bullshit," Miss McGuiness said, blowing on her tea. "You know something about me that I don't want to get out and I'm pretty sure that you don't want me to blow the whistle about you being some director for some super-secret government agency."

"You're correct, Miss Dasher." Fury said, relaxing in his seat.

"Please, it's Kate. You've obviously been tailin' me if you know about my nighttime activities." She chuckled softly, narrowing her eyes at the director.

"Kate…have you heard of S.H.I.E.L.D.?" Fury asked, watching the gears in the woman's head turn.

"In passing, never in full detail. You're like the super C.I.A. You dealt with that Thor problem that happened? Super-secret agents and all that jazz." She said, shrugging her shoulders. Fury's lips twitched into a miniscule smile.

"We stand for Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division."

"So, super-secret agents and all that jazz?" Kate repeated, laughing. Fury shrugged his shoulders, and took a long sip of his coffee. He supposed the best way to win Kate over was to do what she said. He was going to cut the bullshit and lay out his plans about the initiative.

"I've been planning on setting up a certain group of amazing people. If we need you…if the human race needs you…will you answer the call?" Fury said seriously, watching the playful expression slide off Kate's face.

"I don't have a choice, do I?" She asked rhetorically, her teal eyes narrowing dangerously. "If I say no, I'm either going to _'disappear'_ or you're gonna oust me as a freak."

"I'd like to hope that it won't come to that." Fury said honestly, pursing his lips. He needed this woman in his initiative. Every other member had a strong, stubborn personality, other than the good doctor, and Fury's two well-trained agents, of course. He needed another gentle personality so help smooth out any bumps.

Another peacekeeper.

"Mister Fury, do you have anything against mutants?" Kate asked seriously, her nails tapping the brown ceramic of her mug.

"No, ma'me. Many of our agents are mutants." He answered honestly. He'd let her ask her questions, but that didn't mean he would tell the whole truth.

"Do you deal with war? Or weapons of mass destruction? Genocides?" Kate asked, leaning closer to the director. "I won't be anyone's weapon or ace in the hole."

"We're all about protecting America and the human race." Fury said softly, nodding his head.

"I won't be used as some sort of…_revenge _either. I get to make my own decisions, but if you need me…I'll be there."

"No revenge, Miss McGuiness. Welcome to The Avengers Initiative. I'll contact you when we will assemble. Until then, tell no one and go about your normal life." Fury said as he finished the last of his coffee. He nodded to the blonde-auburn haired woman one last time before he left the bakery.

* * *

**Kate: One Month Later:**

It was a dreary evening, with rain pattering against the rooftop. The usually bright sun was being blocked by dark grey clouds, but that didn't seem to deter busy New Yorkers. Various cups and pots were littered around the apartment's floor to catch water droplets, and I internally cursed the bitch that sold us the building without telling us about the leaky roof.

A few weeks ago, Max and I decided to stop renting and bought the building. It was going to take a sweet damn time to pay it off, but we both had good credit, business was going great, and we were able to make a good payment plan with our bank.

I stretched, leaning further into the couch. The _plink, plink, plink_, of the raindrops plopping into pots and cups was going to drive me to drink. Annoyed with the sound, I went to my bathroom to shower. After a quick scrub down, I stepped out of my bathroom and began shuffling towards my bedroom.

"Miss McGuiness."

I froze on the spot, my hand clutching the yellow towel I had wrapped around me. I slowly turned to see none other than Nick Fury, looking cozy as hell in Max's La-Z-Boy. One of the living room windows, the one attached to the fire escape, was opened.

"Mister Fury." I said, slowly edging towards my bedroom. Thankfully, I noticed that Mister Fury kept his eye on the ground. "I assume you're here for the initiative?"

"Correct, Miss McGuiness. Please, get dressed and pack a bag." Fury said, his eye looking everywhere but towards me.

"W-we're leaving now?" I asked, scurrying into my bedroom and began to get into my disguise. I grabbed a large duffle bag and started to pack lightly.

"As soon as you're ready." Fury said. There was something in his tone that made me pack a little quicker. He didn't sound nervous, per say, but it wasn't far off.

"I'm ready." I said begrudgingly, shrugging my bag onto my shoulder. "I need to tell Max I'll be leaving."

"There's no time for that, Miss McGuiness." Fury said softly, standing to his full height. I glared up at him, frowning.

"I'm agreeing to come. I just need to tell my brother….I'm….going." Was the last thing I said as I felt something prick my neck. I felt sluggish as I swiped at my neck, pulling out what looked like a needle with a fishing lure. All the sudden, my feet felt like they couldn't keep me standing and my knees started to wobble. Just when I was about to hit the floor, I felt Fury catch me.

I swear, when I'm sober, I'm going to piss in Fury's coffee.

* * *

**Kate**

I woke up sitting in a leather seat. My eyes were still closed, my head was fuzzy and my eyelids felt like lead. I managed to open them a little when I felt my seat shifting under me. Was I in a car? Well, color me surprised when I looked to my left and saw nothing but blue clouds, sky, and ocean.

I was in a helicopter.

Not exactly the strangest place I've ever woken up in, but by far the most terrifying.

I felt my body tense up in fear as the helicopter jostled a little with turbulence. I think I whimpered as I closed my eyes and dug my nails into the seatbelt's straps. Someone cleared their throat, which made me turn my head and see none other than Nick Fury.

"You…cocksucker." I hissed, wincing as the helicopter hit another bump.

"Not a fan of helicopters?" Fury asked, seeing that I was beginning to sweat. I let out a somewhat ragged breath and tried to pull back so I wouldn't vomit from spewing all over the director.

"Not too happy with flying in general." I said, staring up at the ceiling of the flying tin can. That only made me more aware of the _whop whop whop_ of the propellers. I felt a troll of disgust roll down my back and I couldn't contain the shiver that rocked through me.

"You…You're named after one of Santa's flying reindeer…and you're afraid to fly." Fury said, looking perplexed. I let out a breathy sarcastic laugh.

"What can I say, _Saint Nick,_ you didn't choose your team well." I managed to joke, even though I was extremely petrified. That made all my other senses go loopy. My heart was pounding in my chest, my nose was twitching, my ears were ringing, and my head was starting to throb.

_Screeeeeeech. _

"What the fuck was that?" I said shakily. I was going to be hopelessly embarrassed once this death ride was over. I liked to keep as cool and collected as possible, but that was not happening when I was thousands of feet above what I was able to jump.

"That, Miss Dasher, was your antlers hitting the ceiling." Fury smiled, nodding upwards. I bent over myself and glanced upwards, and true to Director Fury's words, my antlers had come out to play. I usually had such good control over these bad boys, but there was sometimes where they just…slipped out.

"Just," I hissed, taking a deep breath and trying to make the antlers go away. They sucked a few feet into my skull, but four inches of horn refused to go away. "Don't say anything. If I'm really scared they won't go away. Not fully."

"We'll be landing soon. I want to tell you about the team," Fury said, pulling out a few large pictures from under his seat. He inched closer to me and began to show me.

"This is Natasha Romanoff. The Black Widow. One of our top spies." He said, showing me a picture of a lethal looking woman in a black cat suit. She had a gun out, poised at someone just out of range of the camera.

"This is Captain Steve Rogers. Captain America. He was frozen in ice for over 70 years," Fury said, flipping to a picture of a man in uniform. He was lying on a table, half of his body concealed in ice. I fought the vomit once again as I covered my mouth. "You've probably have heard of him in history class. Good man. Good solider."

"This is Doctor Bruce Banner. The Hulk. He's a scientist that's been subjected to high levels of gamma radiation. He turns into the Hulk when he's hurt or angry." Fury flipped to another picture, which showed a man with curly brown hair. The man was kneeling over a small dog, the background looked like a slum. "He's been on the run from a general in the army. He's been all over the world, helping people."

The next picture was of a massive green…_orc_. Orc was the best word I could find to describe the massive green man. Not like an orc from the Lord of the Rings, but more like an orc from Skyrim, the videogame. I could see some connections between Banner and Hulk; mostly in their hair and facial features.

"This is Thor. God of Thunder." Fury said, flipping to a picture of a muscle-bound blonde God. Damn, that man is a dime; a natural ten. I'm not really into blondes though. In the picture, he was filthy, and wearing the strangest armor that I've ever seen.

"And Agent Clint Barton. Hawkeye. He's been…brainwashed by a certain enemy." Fury said, looking mournfully at the picture of a stern looking blonde man. Agent Barton was curled up in what looked like a nook, his eyes trained on the camera. Fury let out a sigh, flicking the edge of the last picture.

"This is Tony Stark. Iron Man. Not a member, but he'll show his face anyways." Fury grumbled, but I could see that there was some kind of fondness underneath the frown. Mister Stark looked exactly how he did on TV. He was dressed to impress, wearing dark glasses and a '_come try to take me down'_ smile.

"I'd love to meet my group members, but we have to land this death can." I said, trying to focus on the images of my teammates instead of the helicopter.

"It's alright, Miss McGuiness. We're landing as we speak." Fury said, making the tremors in my body lessen. I felt the small antlers warp back into my head as I peered out the window. What looked like a massive airplane carrier was floating in the middle of the ocean. As we closed in to the helicopter landing pad, I could see many people rushing around like ants.

"Welcome." The pilot of the helicopter said as we touched down onto the ship. I ripped the seatbelt off and went flying out of the tin can of doom as soon as the doors were slid open. I felt safer as soon as my feet hit the ship. Not as good as solid land, but it was far better than that flying death trap.

"Miss McGuiness."

I turned and saw a woman with red hair and a serious look on her face. She was wearing a tight leather jacket and I didn't miss the two handguns that were attached to her hips. She hand her hands poised in front of her, holding one of her wrists. Natasha Romanoff was just as beautiful in real life as she was in her photo.

"That'd be me." I said, eyeing the two men that were with her. One man was blonde, wearing a plaid shirt and a brown leather jacket. The other had curly dark hair and was wearing a suit that looked like it had seen its prime years ago. Captain Rogers and Doctor Banner, also known as Captain America and Hulk from Fury's little picture show.

"I'm Agent Natasha Romanoff," The red headed woman said before nodding to the two men beside her. "This is Captain Steve Rogers and Doctor Bruce Banner."

I smiled at the two men and nodded my head. Steve Rogers stuck his hand out, smiling at me. When I didn't move, Steve's eyes widened, his hand still held out in front of him. Oh, I hadn't given a handshake in the longest time. I'm more of a hug-and-kiss hello kind of person.

"I-ah…I'm Kate McGuiness." I said awkwardly, jerking my hand forward and shaking his massive hand. This guy looked like he belonged on the cover of Play Girl or Gentleman's Quarterly. He was massive, but he held himself like he was the most modest school boy.

He looked much better now that he wasn't half frozen.

"Sorry about the delayed reaction. I'm more of a hugger than a hand-shaker, and my heads a little messed up from the knock out drugs and my little flight on the tin can of death." I said, turning my attention to Doctor Banner, who looked back at me cautiously. He had his hands in his pockets, and he didn't seem too happy to be here either.

"I don't like doctors." I said with a playful smile, as I outstretched my hand for a shake. Doctor Banner's brows jumped higher on his forehead in surprise.

"I assume you mean medical doctors," Doctor Banner said, slowly shaking my hand. His hand was large as well, and I could tell that he was carrying more than a just little muscle underneath that suit. "Good thing I'm not a medical doctor. Not trained anyway. I'm a scientist."

"Then I'll try not to dislike you too much." I smirked, seeing a small smirk rise on the man's face. A strange noise made my ears twitch, making me break my gaze from the doctor's. Captain Rogers stood next to me as we peered over the edge of the ship. Doctor Banner was quickly at my other side, adjusting his jacket as he too looked over the edge.

"Guys, you may wanna step inside in a minute," Natasha said, standing in the exact same spot as before. "It's gonna get a little hard to breath."

Suddenly, the massive ship began to shake underneath our feet. I took a few steps away from the edge, worried about falling over. I wasn't the best swimmer around, but I could doggy paddle for a few hours. That doesn't mean I'd like to take a dip over the side of the behemoth boat.

"Is this a submarine?" Steve asked, confused blue eyes looking into the water.

Oh **_fuck_** no. Are those propellers?

* * *

**Bruce**

Bruce really did not want to be here.

He wished that he hadn't been dragged into this circus the moment he stepped off that jet. Agent Romanoff briefed him on the Avengers Initiative and the people he'd be forced to work with. She didn't mention the ship full of agents. There were too many people running around the helicarrier and he couldn't seem to find a place where he wouldn't be in the way. As soon as he would take a step forward, he'd have to take a few steps back to make sure he wasn't bum rushed by soldiers.

Meeting Captain America was much more relaxed than he had though. He didn't hold any bitterness towards the super soldier, even though he was an army man. He was even pleasantly surprised to find out that Captain Rogers didn't want to cuff him and ship him off to some hole somewhere.

"Miss McGuiness." Agent Romanoff said, stopping his train of thought. He turned towards the Agent and saw another young, red haired woman coming closer. The girl had blonde-auburn hair, creamy skin, and big expressive teal eyes. The woman looked a little disturbed and more than a little out of her element.

Bruce could tell that the woman wanted to be here just as much as he did. This meant she'd probably rip out and sell her front teeth to get on the quickest ride out of there. He recognized her from Agent Romanoff's debriefing; she was Kathleen McGuiness, a mutant also known as Dasher. She was a vigilante that had been hopping around New York City for the past few months.

"That'd be me." Her voice was slightly deep and uplifting. Bruce found himself standing taller and puffing out his shoulders to make himself bigger. _Woah,_ he hadn't had that reaction to a woman in a very long time. Bruce was a little surprised by the woman, even though he had been given a short briefing about her.

Bruce expected the slightly-famous Dasher to be taller, if not a little more bulky-muscular. For her short height, he could tell that she was streamlined, but covered in layers of well-toned muscles. He had also expected her to be a little more menacing, but Miss McGuiness seemed to be a lively young woman. He once again found himself day dreaming when the fellow mutant pulled him back to reality.

"I don't like doctors." She said with a playful smile. Her teal eyes shimmered in mirth, and Bruce couldn't help but feel cautious. Here was this little woman, who undoubtedly knew about his big, green problem, smiling at him like he was a completely normal person.

Might as well play along. After all, when was the last time he was able to just tease and play along with someone.

"I assume you mean medical doctors," Bruce said, slowly taking her small hand in his. The top of her hand was soft, but the palm and long fingers were calloused. He recognized faintly that she fought with her fists. He noticed her eyeing him up, looking curious, not weary. Bruce felt himself, _once again_, standing a little taller and puffing out his chest.

"Good thing I'm not a medical doctor. Not trained anyway. I'm a scientist." Bruce smiled, elated by the shimmer of playfulness that sparked in her eye.

"Then I'll try not to dislike you too much." Miss McGuiness smiled, showing off a row of white teeth. They weren't pristine white; she must drink a lot of coffee or tea.

He'd like to take her out for a drink.

_Woah…where'd that thought come from. _

A deep thrumming noise made the woman beside him shiver. She and Captain Rogers peered over the edge of the boat, and Bruce noticed the way her shoulders tensed as the boat gave another groan and shake. Bruce found himself quickly standing by her side, peering over the edge.

"Guys, you may wanna step inside in a minute," Agent Romanoff said, seeming unfazed by the shaking and the noises. "It's gonna get a little hard to breath."

The boat began to fiercely shake underneath his feet and Bruce had to remind himself not to burst out laughing. Of course, S.H.I.E.L.D. would put him in a goddamn submarine. They had no clue just how dangerous he was.

"Is this a submarine?" Captain Rogers said, looking out into the ocean.

"Really? They want me in a submerged pressurized metal container?" Bruce laughed sarcastically, barley keeping in a grumble of frustration.

Just as Bruce though that the situation couldn't get any worse, four massive lift fans appeared out of the water. They were acting as propeller engines to lift the whole ship into the air. Captain Roger's jaw dropped in awe and Miss McGuiness gasped and made a strange stance. Bruce thought she looked like she was a newborn foal that didn't know where to put her weight.

"Oh, no. This is much worse." Bruce laughed. Sure, don't tell the man with anger management issues about the ship turning into a giant flying menace. Bruce's laugh quickly died as he saw the look of utter terror on McGuiness' face.

The cheerful looking woman looked completely overwhelmed and panicky. She pursed her lips, which Bruce noticed were a shade of soft, pale pink, and that the top lip was a small cupid's bow, but her bottom lip was plump. Bruce shook his head, slightly shocked at his less than controlled thoughts.

"Alright, Miss McGuiness?" Agent Romanoff asked softly, her face remaining neutral. Bruce watched the mutant swallow thickly before taking a shuddering breath.

"I hate flying," She said, closing her eyes and taking another deep breath. "And please, call me Kate."

"Doctors and flying? That's a long list of dislikes." Bruce teased, hoping to distract her. He knew a thing or two about diverting your anxieties. Agent Romanoff turned and urged the trio to follow her into the bowls of the ship. Bruce barley held back a flinch as Captain Rogers offered Miss McGuiness_, Kate,_ his arm.

Typical 40's gentleman.

Kate shot the Captain a surprised look, one eyebrow raised high. Slowly, she wrapped her arm around his. The four Avengers began to follow the hoard of crew members and agents into the ship and Bruce had to fight to keep himself from laughing. Kate had to practically jog to keep up with Captain Roger's long strides. She clung to his arm, looking around nervously.

"I'm sorry. I'm a hugger, but I'm usually not this clingy," Bruce heard Kate murmur to the super soldier, who smiled softly down at her. "I'm just not very comfortable; and when that happens I tend to become a leech. Or a bitch. Be thankful I'm leeching instead of the former."

Bruce smiled as he watched the Captain stutter and fall over his own words. Back in the Captain's time most women probably didn't talk like Kate. Captain looked like he wanted to calm her, but didn't know how to. Bruce let himself smile, even though there was a small part of him that was more than eager to take the mutant off of the Captain's hands.

* * *

**Kate's POV: **

Walking through the bridge was amazing. It was so bright everything was gleaming. The ground beneath me was so solid that I almost forgot that we were on a giant flying ship.

Almost.

"Gentlemen. Ladies." Fury greeted as we got to the end of the bridge into what must be the main control room. There were dozens of people in black cat suits sitting in front of wide, glowing screens. Fury was sitting in a giant chair that was surrounded by sweet holographic screens. I'm no techno-freak, but I can appreciate a damn fine piece of technology when I see one.

Captain Rogers looked like his brain had melted, boiled, and was slowly seeping out his ears. I took a quick look to verify that his brains weren't dripping out. The blonde's mouth was wide open and his blue eyes were wide with shock. Before I could ask him what was up, he pulled away from my grasp, rooted around in his pocket and pulled out a ten dollar bill, which he handed to a smug looking Fury.

Fury took the money before turning to Doctor Banner, Agent Natasha, and I. The director offered his hand to the doctor, who slowly responded back. I noticed Doctor Banner was looking all around the room as he shook Fury's hand. For some reason, I felt that if Doctor Hulk over here wasn't comfortable, I shouldn't be getting too cozy myself.

"Doctor," Fury said, turning his head to smile at me. Cheeky bastard. "Dasher. Thank you for coming."

"Thanks for asking nicely. So, uh…how long am I staying?" Bruce asked, stuffing his hands into his pockets. I pursed my lips and narrowed my eyes in dislike. Fury knew I hated flying and he still put me on this flying ship.

_Asshat. _

"Doctor, once we get our hands on the Tesseract, you're in the clear." Fury said calmly, as if he was running a damned bed and breakfast.

"Where are you with that? The Tesseract?" Bruce asked, watching the director with a calculating eye. The Tesseract? What the hell was that? Agent Natasha saw my confused look and pointed towards one of Fury's floating screens. On that screen was an image of a glowing cube. Was that the Tesseract thing they were talking about finding? They wanted to find that?

Shit; give me a cardboard box, glitter, and some glow in the dark paint and I'll make you a Tesseract from scratch.

"You're looking for a box. You've drugged me and dragged me here for a box. It better be super magical or powerful or some shit," I said, starting to rant. "It kinda looks a little bit like the Allspark from those Transformer movies. You've drugged me and dragged me here for a goddamn movie prop."

A loud snort made me turn around and glare at the others behind me. Agent Natasha was stone faced, but had a certain glimmer in her eye. Captain Rogers looked amused, barley containing a large smirk. That only left the good doctor, who was blushing red and covering his mouth with his hand. I could tell by his eyes that he was smiling.

Great, now I'm the entertainment.

Grumbling at my outburst, Fury motioned for an agent to come forward. I watched cautiously as an agent wearing a nicely pressed suit came forward and cleared his throat. Who the hell was this suit monkey?

"We're sweeping every wirelessly accessible camera on the planet. Cellphones, laptops; If it's connected to a satellite, it's eyes and ears for us." The man in the suit said, nodding his head towards one of the many screens that were floating around Fury's station.

"That's still not going to find them in time." Agent Natasha mumbled, her eyes trained on a computer screen. It was a picture of the agent that Fury said had been brainwashed. I'm slowly getting the reason why Fury had called me and my teammates over for play time.

The bad guy took their glowing toy box and stole one of their friends. So Fury got a group of bigger and badder kids to beat up on the bad kid.

And they say high school never ends. More like preschool never ends.

"You have to narrow the field. How many spectrometers do you have access to?" Doctor Banner asked politely after pulling himself together. He pulled a pair of gold-framed glasses out of a pocket inside his jacket and began to fiddle with them.

"How many are there?" Fury asked, sitting back down in his seat.

"Call every lab you know, tell them to put the spectrometers on the roof and calibrate them for gamma rays. I'll rough out a tracking algorithm based on cluster recognition. At least we could rule out a few places."

Damn; Doctor's got a good head on those big shoulders.

Hey, I don't know if he was _a real_ doctor. Some collages do give out honorary doctorates.

"Do you have somewhere for me to work?" Doctor Banner asked, looking ready to get to work. Fury smiled, knowing he had the doctor in his clutches as soon as science was mentioned.

"Agent Romanoff, would you show Doctor Banner to his laboratory, please. Dasher will accompany him or go with Captain Rogers. Your choice, McGuiness." Fury said, leaning back into his chair and crossing one leg over the other. I looked towards the Captain, who seemed to be in awe of the computer next to him. I then looked towards the doctor, who was looking at my feet with a forlorn look on his face.

"I'll join the doctor, if it's no trouble for him," I said, smiling at the curly haired doctor. "Science isn't my strong suit, but I'd like to poke around. We're stuck on this death trap, so we might as well play nice."

Doctor Banner blushed a few different shades of red, and I'm pretty sure I saw one shade of purple on his cheeks. Agent Natasha smiled and nodded, silently asking us to follow her.

"You're gonna love it, Doc. We got all the toys." Agent Natasha said, leading us down another brightly lit hallway. Even though the ship wasn't shaking like an airplane, it was hard to ignore the fact that we were in the sky when it seemed like half this place was made out of windows.

The Black Widow was silent as she brought us down hallway after hallway. We finally stopped in front of a huge door with a hand scanner attached to the side. Agent Natasha nodded to the two armed guards as she scanned her hand, the massive door opening to show the most advanced lab that I could ever conceive. Doctor Banner seemed in awe too; if the massive grin on his face was anything to go by.

It looked like someone was in their element.

"Doctor. Dasher." Agent Natasha nodded before turning silently on heel and leaving the lab. Everything in the lab was bright, white, silver, and looked horrifically expensive. Nervously, I found a stool to sit on as far away from the windows as I could find.

"Agent Romanoff tells me you're a vigilante." Doctor Banner said, leaning against a nearby countertop. He'd taken off his suit jacket and looked much more comfortable than he had before.

"Director Fury tells me you're Hulk." I said, unsure of what to say. I guessed it was a bad thing to say considering the way Doctor Banner grimaced and looked away nervously. Scratching the back of my neck, I tried to smile at the scientist.

"Nothin' wrong with that, you know. So…I'm guessing you won't be able to do much until Fury calls those labs you mentioned to calibrate those…things…to gamma…algorithms." I trailed off, feeling incredibly stupid. I rubbed my palms on my thighs nervously, but I felt better when Doctor Banner chuckled.

"Right," Doctor Banner said, crossing his arms over his chest. "How'd Fury get you into this mess?"

"Typical secret agent style: blackmail. He lightly mentioned that if I didn't come play with this initiative, by alter ego wouldn't stay so alter. I've got a brother and I've pissed off a lot of people; a lot of bad people. I can't risk it." I said, not feeling guarded around the scientist. Looks can be deceiving, but I don't think Doctor Banner would use anything against me.

And if he tries, I'll just have to take him down before big green comes out to play.

"Agent Romanoff cornered me, with about twenty other heavily armed agents." Doctor Banner said, with a sly smirk, as if we were comparing war stories. I couldn't believe that this mild looking man would need a small army of agents to take him in, along with the infamous Black Widow.

"Hopefully this will all be over soon and we can go back home. Where you from?" I asked, hoping that we could shoot the shit until it was time to work.

"I've been staying in Kolkata, India for a few years." Doctor Banner said, and I couldn't help but notice the tenseness in his shoulders. "Are you from New York?"

"I'm from upstate. Way upstate, by the capitol. My brother and I've been living in Manhattan for almost a year now." I said, smiling. "Ever been to the city, Doc?"

Banner's eyes seemed to space out for a moment, like he was looking at something far away. There was a small, sad smile on his face. He'd been to New York before, and it seemed like the memories were bitter-sweet.

"Sorry if I'm pushing you for info, Doctor Banner," I said, dragging the doctor out of his daze. "I'd just like to get to know you. We can hope that we won't be here long, but if we are, I'd like to be friends. Agent Natasha looks a little too solitary to want to play buddies, and I think Captain Rogers is a little to overwhelmed with well…_everything_ to worry about messing around with some mutant. Ya know, I think I'm gonna get out of your hair, I don't want to bug you-"

"Bruce," He cut me off mid-rant with a huge smile on his face. "You can call be Bruce; none of this doctor business from you. Don't worry yourself."

I couldn't help but smile as the good doctor smiled bashfully and scratched the back of his head.


	4. Chapter 4: Germany and Jets

Thanks to all you lovelies reviewers! I'm glad you guys are liking the story!

(: Read and Review

* * *

**Bruce: **

I couldn't believe my luck when Kate had chosen to come with me to the lab instead of hooch around with the handsome Captain America. My fellow mutant was so talkative and chipper, even after we were left alone in the lab together.

Usually, people who knew about _the other guy_ are overly cautious around me. It's alright. I'm used to people tip-toeing around me, worried about the smallest chance of me losing my temper or wondering if _the other guy_ was going to be the last thing they ever saw. Kate didn't seem to care if she could possibly be beaten to death by a green monster; she seemed to be worried if she was _bugging me_.

"What do you do, Miss McGuiness?" I asked, watching the blonde-auburn haired woman swing her legs back and forth. I wonder how she was mutated. Birth? Experimentation, like me?

It wasn't exactly something you asked on the first date.

Not that this was a date.

_Certainty not._

I don't think Kate would enjoy a place like this as a first date, given her fear of flying. She doesn't seem like a lady that would enjoy a fancy restaurant either. She looks like a movie and bar kind of girl. No offense meant by that, either.

"Call me Kate, this Miss stuff is making me so nervous. I feel like someone's about to cuff me and read me my rights," Kate laughed, rolling her eyes. "My twin brother and I own a bakery in Manhattan. Not as glorified as a doctor. I don't think I can be of much help to you in the lab, I passed every science and math class I ever took by the skin of my ass."

Oh, she can be quite the _help_. No science or math needed.

I winced at my internal pervert, who seemed much more active than usual today. I poked around my head and felt _the big guy_ in there, loitering around. He seemed pretty bored, but he was awake and aware of our surroundings.

"I bet you'd rather be in your bakery than here right now." I mused, hearing a ping come from one of the computer screens. It was a message from Fury, telling me that he had acquired the help of thousands of labs, and that all their spectrometers were available to us. A program popped up on the screen, numbers crunching and flying across the screen.

I thought for a minute before plugging the algorithm into the correct program. The screen seemed to stall for a moment before it began chugging along. There wasn't much else to do but wait for the spectrometers to detect any sign of the Tesseract.

"I never even got to tell him I was going," Kate whispered, sounding deeply troubled. "Idiot's probably rippin' apart the town looking for me."

I looked to the mutant, who had her arms crossed over her chest. Her eyes were slightly lidded, in sadness or regret, I couldn't tell. She sighed and I couldn't help but frown. Kate wasn't supposed to look so sad. Hell, I've known her for maybe an hour and I know she's not supposed to look like someone kicked her puppy.

I could sympathize with Kate, but I could not fully empathize with her. I understood the pain of being separated from my mother, but not her pain of being separated from her twin. I never had any brothers or sisters, and I knew nothing of the connection that they felt. Kate seemed deeply troubled by the separation, I could tell by the way she kept biting her lower lip and wringing her hands together.

"It's going to be alright." I found myself whispering and inching closer. "We are going to get the cube, kick Loki's crazy can, and then I'm going to make sure you get home."

Kate looked up at me with a complete look of trust. Her eyes were guarded, but I could see right through her. She was scared, but she wasn't used to showing it. She was nervous about this whole situation. She wasn't like me; Kate had loved ones that she couldn't afford to lose. She had a home. A family, possibly a boyfriend.

I barely held back my grimace at that last thought. Something in my stomach churned at the mere thought of her with another man. I had no right to be thinking like this, I hardly know this woman. She's probably with a younger man; a fellow fighter with a gentle disposition. Not a scientist that's almost fifteen years older than her with anger issues.

Just when she was about to say something, a chiming alarm broke our eye contact. The computer had detected high levels of gamma and had pin pointed a 67% match, and increasing. I zoomed in on the map, focusing on the pin. I heard the massive door to the lab open. Agent Romanoff and Captain Rodgers marched in wearing similar stern expressions.

"Stuttgart, Germany." Agent Romanoff said, nodding to Kate. They obviously had my findings coming up on another screen. Of course, they probably had cameras all over this lab. _They couldn't leave a beauty with a beast alone, _I thought with a snarl.

"Loki's been spotted. You two need to suit up." Agent Romanoff said, looking at Captain and Kate. Kate's brow furrowed and she looked down at herself. She looked like she was already suited up, wearing a green and bronze uniform.

"We have a surprise for the two of you," Agent Romanoff said as Kate swung off her stool. "You and Cap'n can't face Loki without proper uniforms."

"They're going after Loki? Alone?" I asked, taking my glasses off and tossing them onto the tabletop. Agent Romanoff stared at me for a moment before a small smile slid across her usually stoic features.

"Captain and Dasher are more than capable of the task." Agent Romanoff said, waving the two fighters to follow after her. Captain Rogers followed behind her eagerly, ready for his next mission. Kate stayed behind for a moment, looking at me with a confused look on her face. She pursed her lips quickly once.

"I'll be back." She said softly, staring dead into my eyes. I felt something in my chest tighten, but I knew better than to act upon it.

"You better." I said seriously before managing a smile. She dashed out of the lab, quickly catching up with the Widow and Captain. I re-focused my attention on the lab around me. A sudden thought made me freeze and made _the other guy_ grumble aggressively.

If she comes back with one cut, _one bruise_, I'm taking down this helicarrier and everyone on it.

* * *

**_Kate _**

"And this: is for you." Agent Natasha said as we entered what looked a gym locker room. Captain had already gone into his own "locker room", and I was bouncing-nervous to see my uniform. The locker room looked completely normal, except for the large, tube-like metal closet in the center of the room. As soon as I was a few feet in front of it, the doors opened with a hiss and a puff of compressed air.

A mannequin wearing the most beautiful uniform was revealed.

"We kept with the brown and green scheme, but made it more streamlined." Agent Natasha said, leaving the locker and closing the door behind her so I could change in privacy. The uniform was perfect! It was a deep brown cat-suit with a green tank top underneath. The top of the suit was cut like a vest; no sleeves, but there was a hood attached. There was a pair of gloves that went to my elbows, made of half thick brown leather material and half green material, like I had dipped my palms and underarms in green paint. Finally, a pair of black combat boots, a black power belt that had pouches attached, and a pair of green-lensed goggles.

"I feel so…_strong_." I whispered to myself as I looked in the mirror after putting on my new uniform. I looked like a super spy and totally dangerous. I frowned as I looked at my old uniform that I had folded and put on the bench. I heard the locker room door hiss open.

"My brother gave me this uniform." I whispered to the Widow while I put my knives and guns in their proper places. "He was the only person, other than my Da', to ever believe I could do something good."

Agent Natasha didn't say anything, but she smiled. I knew she understood. The way she was gazing, longing at that picture of Agent Barton earlier told me everything. He was her person. He was the person that kept her chugging away.

"Can you bring these to Bruce? I don't really trust them anywhere else." I said, holding out my old uniform to the agent.

"Wouldn't you rather I put them in your room." She asked softly, taking the clothes gently. I shook my head, looking down at my booted toes.

"I trust Bruce." I whispered, hoping she wasn't offended. I pretty much told her that I didn't trust her, but I did trust Bruce. No one likes to be distrusted. Agent Natasha seemed to understand and smiled before leading me towards Captain's locker. He came out wearing a brand spankin' new suit and he was looking ready for a fight.

"You ready, Captain?" I asked, trying to keep along with his long strides. "You think we can take on this Loki guy? I heard some of the agents saying he's a god. Like, how Thor's a god. With powers and everything."

Captain smiled, pulling the mask-hood of his uniform over his head. His shield, which was gleaming bright and covered with a fresh coat of red, white, and blue, was attached to his back.

"We can take him," Captain said softly, seeming confident. "We've got the ride there to plan. Agent Coulson tells me you're a fighter. Have you ever boxed?"

"I've dabbled. I kick-box, and most of the time I use a mixed martial arts and different fighting styles of Ireland." I said, hoping that the Captain wouldn't think of me as a useless battle-buddy. It was still kind of shocking for me; _I_ was going to go fight alongside _Captain_ _America_.

Captain smiled and nodded his head. I was nervous with how quickly everything was advancing. Something didn't feel right. Was Bruce supposed to find Loki this quickly? My nerves became even more frayed as Natasha reappeared and told us that we'd be taking a quinjet to Germany.

A quinjet.

Never heard of one.

_Already_ afraid of it.

* * *

**_Kate_**

Turns out, a quinjet is kinda like a fighter jet on steroids. It can go ultra-fast, has weapons up the wazoo, and had a cloaking devise. Agent Natasha told me it also had a speaker system.

"It'll be nice to be back in Germany," Agent Natasha said from the pilot's seat. She earned an incredulous look from Captain. "Wasn't directed towards you, Cap. Little Miss reindeer here spent a college semester in Germany."

"Mhm. _Strange_ semester. No one warned me about certain electronics not working correctly for some reason. I had this a really old hairdryer that blew up as soon as I tried to use it. Sparks and the whole shebang." I said, making the Captain smirk.

"You studied abroad? For what?" Captain asked, his hands planted in his lap.

"Art. I'm a creative art therapist." I said, shrugging my shoulders. "My school shut down the master degree program during my sophomore year. The only other place to go for my masters was some protestant school up in the mountains. I couldn't find much to do with my degree, so I started a business with my brother."

"You gave up? How can you give up on art?" Captain asked, looking confused. I scoffed, shaking my head.

"I changed directions, babe. Didn't give up," I said, looking at the man that should be older than my father. "You're into art, Captain?"

"I was studying art before the war." Captain said, slumping into his seat.

"Sorry to interrupt boys and girls. But it's time for you two to make your introduction." Agent Natasha said as she steadied the quinjet. "You're going to rope down onto the rooftop below."

Captain and I nodded, even though I was nervous as hell. When we opened the back of the jet, we realized we'd only be roping down about thirty feet. I'd landed bigger jumps when I was in middle school.

"I'll go first and make sure you come down safely, okay?" Captain shouted over the sound of the engine. I nodded and mouthed back '_okay'_, not trusting my voice as the jet shifted slightly underneath our feet. Steve tossed the black rope down to the rooftop and slid down it like he'd been moonlighting at a strip club for years.

I had to take a deep breath and double-check my grip on the rope. Even in the darkness, I could see Captain waiting for me, his arms outstretched. Holding my breath, I leapt out of the jet and wrapped my legs around the rope. I went spinning down the rope at a dizzying speed and I landed on my feet with a soft thud.

"Didn't even need to catch 'ya." Captain joked, taking his shield off his back. I shot Natasha the signal that Captain and I were safe on the ground and she took the quinjet high above the clouds. Captain and I took to the shadows and we found Loki in no time flat. It wasn't that hard to find him because of the large scene he was causing.

The god was in front of a museum, people bowing down around him. The man looked like the typical bad guy; thin face, slicked back hair, a glowing scepter, and the strangest head gear I've ever seen. Captain growled as one man stood and refused to kneel before the maker of mischief.

"I don't like bullies." Captain hissed as he leapt out from our hiding spot.

"What was our plan again?" I groaned to myself, keeping to the shadows. I slunk further through the shadows, keeping close to the edge of the huge herd of kneeling Germans. The one man that wouldn't kneel was an old man, one that was about to get his behind blasted to dust. In Loki's hand was a scepter that glowed a wicked looking blue.

"There are no men like me." Loki sneered, looking down at the older man. I could see Captain prowling through the crowds, keeping low and out of sight.

"There are _always_ men like you." The elderly man said, his voice stern. The man looked old enough to have seen World War Two; and if his accent was anything to go by, he had seen Nazi Germany first hand. Loki smirked down at the older man and projected his voice to ring out for the entire crowd to hear.

"Look to your elder, people! Let him be an example." Loki shouted, the scepter in his grasp glowing a frightening shade of blue. The god raised the scepter and pointed it at the elderly man, who didn't bat an eye. Was he going to throw the scepter at him? Was it magic?

A wincing-bright beam of blue light blasted from the scepter.

_Yup. Magic. _

I released my control over my antlers and burst from the shadows, tucking my head down and running towards the god. From the corner of my eye, I saw Captain come soaring out of the crowd and block the blue beam with his shield. The ray ricocheted off his shield and knocked Loki a few steps back. I managed to knock him clear off his feet by ramming my antlers into his side and throwing him. Loki landed with a thump on the concrete, a wicked grin on his face.

"You know, the last time I was in Germany and saw a man standing above everybody else, we ended up disagreeing." Captain said with a scowl. Loki stood slowly, a smirk growing on his face.

"_The soldier_. A man out of time," Loki drawled. "And _the princess thug_. A little, young doe."

"I'm not the one who's out of time." Captain said, his shoulders straight and strong. I kept quiet, not showing the god of tricks that any of his prods were bothering me. We weren't sent to play with the bad guy, we were sent here to kick his ass!

Captain must have given Agent Natasha the signal for her to join in the fun. The quinjet lowered and hovered above the ground, a large machine gun deploying from the bottom of the jet.

"Loki, drop the weapon and stand down." Agent Natasha's stern voice came from the loudspeakers of the quinjet. Without a second thought, Loki shot another blast of blue energy at the quinjet. I almost gasped and covered my eyes, but I sighed in relief as Agent Natasha quickly maneuvered out of the way. The blue beam hit into a nearby building, causing rubble to come crumbling down.

Seeing that Loki was distracted with trying to shoot down the quinjet, Captain threw his shield at the god. The red, white, and blue shield spun with deadly accuracy and knocked Loki to the ground.

"I'm getting everyone out of here!" I called to Captain, who nodded and headed for Loki. I leapt, flipping in the air and landing on the top of the fountain.

"MOVE! OFF YOUR KNEES AND MOVE!" I shouted, quickly realizing that many of them might not understand English. "_Laufen! Aufstehen!"_

My German's a little rusty.

"_Gehen Sie so_!" I shouted, pointing towards one of the emptier streets. I jumped down from the fountain and began guiding people towards the street. "Down this street! Go somewhere safe! _Irgendwo sicher_!"

Thankfully, the crowd began to rush down the street. I couldn't help but praise God that the entire crowd had come from the late night museum gala, so there weren't any children involved. The last thing we needed was a child being trampled because people were in a rush to save themselves.

Behind me, I could hear Captain and Loki duking it out. The second the last person left the square, I spun around to help Captain. The soldier was on his knees, Loki pointing his scepter at his head. Growling, I pulled out one of my pistols and pulled back the hammer.

**_Bang. _**

I fired one shot at the horned-helmeted god. The bullet lodged itself into the liar-god's thigh. Loki winced and turned his attention to me.

"It's time for you both to kneel." The god hissed, lifting the weapon from Captain's head and pointing it towards me. As soon as the scepter began to glow blue, Captain lunged to his feet and shoved his fist into Loki's smug little face.

"Not today!" Captain said, his leg muscles bulging as he leapt into the air and round house kicked Loki in the face. Cocking back the hammer once more, I fired another shot at the god's feet. Loki stepped away from the bullet; giving Captain enough time to deliver a blinding sucker punch. Tucking my pistol away, I ran full force towards the two.

I felt the blood in my leg muscles begin to pump, my speed increasing to above average. I raced behind Loki, making him turn in confusion, only to turn his face into my bent elbow. While the god was knocked back, I pulled one of my knives out of my pouch. I decided that at times like these, no cheap shot was too cheap, and I sliced my knife against the inside of his right thigh.

A little too close to his groin for most men.

Loki pulled his arm back and rocked a punch to my jaw. I flinched away from the blow, but it still managed to land against the left side of my face. I took a step back, swinging my leg out to give me some space.

Suddenly, loud rock music started blasting from the quinjet. ACDC's _'Shoot to Thrill'_ was pouring out of the loud speakers, just as something metallic caught my eye. It was Iron Man, his metal palms open and shooting sparks. The metal man landed as Loki was blasted onto his back. With one palm open to reveal a molten blaster, and his other hand held out in a fist. Rocket launchers and what looked like other projectiles began popping out from his suit's metal plating.

"Make your moves, reindeer games." Iron Man threatened with every single piece of weaponry his suit poised at the god.

"As the only one with _real_ antlers," I said, nodding to Loki's golden horned-helmet. "I am offended."

Loki frowned, seeming to contemplate his options. He slowly raised his hands and his armor seemed to dematerialize, leaving him in simple green robes.

"Good move." Iron Man grunted. Captain rushed over to us, his shield still equipped on his arm.

"Mister Stark." Captain acknowledged the billionaire. Captain didn't seem too happy to see him though. Why wouldn't he be? Mister Stark just helped make our jobs easier.

"Captain," Iron Man said, his weapons still poised at Loki. Agent Natasha landed the quinjet in a nearby park. It was an awkward walk to the jet, with Captain leading the group, Loki in handcuffs between us, and Mister Stark and me holding up the caboose with our weapons poised.

"Thanks for bringing some more fire power, Mister Stark." I said, keeping my eyes trained on the villain.

"Your little boy band needed help. I'm a little more _interested_ now that I see it's not just a boy band." Mister Stark said. I couldn't help but notice that his suit made strange noises whenever he took a step. It wasn't exactly a whirling, but it wasn't a buzzing. It was a _little_ grating on my nerves.

"You mean the Avengers Initiative?" I asked, "Director Fury said you'd be making an appearance, but said you weren't a part of the initiative."

"Well, apparently I'm volatile, self-obsessed, and don't play well with others." Mister Stark says, sounding a little less than pleased. I frowned, shrugging my shoulders. What does his personality have to do with kicking some ass? I know I don't have the most pleasant personality, but is that really a reason for me not to help people?

We found the quinjet in the park easily. We loaded Loki into the jet and shoved him into one of the seats. Captain handed me the rope we used to slide out of the jet earlier to tie up the god. Within minutes, we were in the air with Loki handcuffed and tied up in his chair.

Mister Stark leaned forward in his seat, looking at me from over Captain, who sat between us. I had my eyes closed and was trying to keep my breathing deep and even. My fists were clenched on my knees, and I knew my knuckles were turning white.

"You're looking a little pale there, Rudolf." Mister Stark said, still leaning forward.

"I'm n-not a fan of planes, Mister Stark," I groaned as we hit a small bit of turbulence. "Can't stomach it much."

"It's Tony to you, ten-point," Tony said, leaning back in his seat. He seemed to understand that I didn't feel much like talking. I tried to find anything that could hold my attention, but there wasn't much. I kept looking towards Loki, who had been strangely quiet. Wasn't he going to try to escape? Try to tell us his evil plans? It was more than slightly disconcerted.

"I don't like it." Captain whispered, his bighands clasped in front of him. He was clearly talking about Loki, who looked like he was feigning sleep. His eyes were moving under his lids, and his toes would wriggle every so often. He was playing possum.

"What? Rock of Ages giving up so easily?" Tony asked, raising a dark brow at the soldier.

"I don't remember it being ever that easy. This guy packs a wallop." Steve said, running his hand over his ribs that Loki had hit.

"Still, you are pretty spry, for an older fellow. What's your thing? Pilates?" Tony asked, mildly interested.

"What?" Captain asked, looking extremely confused. I rolled my eyes and kept my mouth shut.

"It's like calisthenics. You might have missed a couple things, you know, doing time as a Capsicle." Tony said sincerely, shrugging his shoulders. I fought hard to stifle my snort of laughter as Captain shot Tony a rather unamused look.

These two are gonna have _loads_ of fun together.

"Fury didn't tell me he was calling you in." Captain said softly, with only a little bit of venom seeping into his tone. Tony either didn't catch it, or didn't care as he crossed his legs and smirked.

"Fury told Rudolf here, I wonder why he didn't tell you? By the way, I never caught your name, little lady." Tony said, resting his cheek against his fist and turning his attention back to me. I flinched again as the jet bounced for a millisecond before straightening itself out.

"Kate, Mister Tony." I introduced myself with a nod of my head.

"Fury told you about him?" Captain asked me, his eyes narrowed in confusion and head tilted. Tony cut me off before I could answer with a deep laugh. The billionaire put his hands behind his head and stretched out.

"Yeah, there are a lot of things Fury doesn't tell you."

Captain frowned, and it looked like the soldier was about to start a fight with Tony. Just as he pointed his gloved finger in Tony's direction, a huge boom shook the plane. I screamed, my knees shaking so hard that they knocked against each other like Scooby-Doo. The boom, which turned out to be thunder and lightning, shook the quinjet violently, making me almost fall onto Steve.

"Where's this coming from?" Agent Natasha asked, leering at the quinjet's radars. Thunder rumbled dangerously, seeming to fill the air with static. I was breathing heavy, unable to control the trembling. Captain held onto my shoulders, looking slightly concerned, but his attention was on Loki, who seemed to be staring worriedly out the window.

"What's the matter? Scared of a little lightning?" Captain taunted the tied-up god. Loki didn't respond to the prods, continuing to look out the window.

"I'm not overly fond of what follows." Loki muttered, looking a little green. The quinjet suddenly was hit with another loud bang, and the back ramp was ripped open. A man was there, dressed in strange armor, his red cape whipping behind him in the wind. The blonde, who I recognized from Fury's briefing as Thor, lunged into the jet. He grabbed Loki by the throat and before I could blink, the two gods were flying out of the quinjet.

…Damnit.

* * *

**_Bruce _**

Hours had passed and not much had changed. I investigated the lab, keeping a mental checklist of everything available to me. I kept a close eye on the Tesseract tracking system and on the tracker attached to the jet that Agent Romanoff, Captain, and Kate had taken. Director Fury came to visit a few hours after the trio of fighters had left, looking around the room. I could tell that he was on edge by the way he kept his dominant hand by his gun. The intimidating man found me sitting at one of the many desks, clicking away at the spectrometer findings.

"Doctor Banner," Fury said, coming closer. "The cube and Loki have been apprehended."

"Good, when are the others expected to return?" I asked, tapping the tip of my pencil against my pad of paper. Sometimes the only way I can crunch all these numbers was with good, old-fashioned lead and paper. Sure, tablets and computers were great and convenient, but sometimes they just don't do it for me.

"A little longer than usual. Their mission was compromised." Fury said, sounding very shady. I found my pencil tapping quicker against my papers.

"Compromised?" I asked, trying to keep my voice light.

"Tony Stark decided to drop in," Fury said, sounding surprisingly calm. "I'm more worried about their _jet_ being compromised."

"Their plane's been attacked?" I asked, Kate's terrified face flashing in my mind. The poor woman was practically frozen whenever the hellicarrier hit a small patch of turbulence. The thought of her in a dangerous situation, in a plane no less, made my hands start to shake a bit.

"Thor has taken Loki. Stark, Captain, and Dasher are going after him." Fury said, an emotionless glaze over his eye as he stared out into the dark clouds. I could feel my blood start to pump quicker. Kate could have gotten hurt fighting Loki, she's clearly scared of the plane, and now she's going after two gods. My anger bubbled a little, but I managed to push it back down.


	5. Chapter 5: Reindeer Fight and SphereCams

Alright guys, this is kinda a filler chapter. It's just introducing you to Kate's powers and fighting styles. I'll be working on the next chapter soon!

And to the reviewer who said that Bruce was too worried too early, I have reasons! Kate (and Tony, obv.) are the first people who have never been weary around Bruce, and he doesn't want to loose that. No matter how much Bruce says he's a monster and needs to be alone, I believe he craves for people and for loved ones to treat him like a normal human.

Anywho, (: Read and Review my lovlies

* * *

**_Kate _**

I can't believe we're going after Thor.

I closed my eyes and managed to hold back a whimper as Agent Natasha fought to get the quinjet under control. Tony already had his helmet back on, ready for a fight. Captain and I were holding onto a bar that hung from the ceiling, sort of like the metal bars on the subway.

"Now, there's _that_ guy." Tony said, looking out the opening of the jet. The jet was horrendously loud, the wind, the jet's engines, and the storm were making my ears ring.

"Another Asgardian!" Agent Natasha shouted back to us as she stabilized the plane.

"Think the guy's friendly?" Captain shouted over the blasting noise around us.

"He is!" I managed to shout. "Fury showed me pictures and shit. He's a good guy."

"Pictures _and shit_?" Captain yelled, a confused and rather disgusted look on his face.

"Doesn't matter! If he frees Loki or kills him, the Tesseract's lost!" Tony said, marching towards the back opening of the plane. He seemed gun-ho to get the big lug.

"Stark, we need a plan of attack!" Captain said, letting go of the bar.

"I have a plan. Attack." Tony said, turning to face Captain before jumping out of the jet. Captain groaned and pulled a parachute pack off the wall. He grabbed another and tossed it my way. With shaking hands, I slid the straps over my shoulders and began buckling every buckle I could find.

"I'd sit this one out, Cap." Agent Natasha said, lowering the jet after Tony and the two gods. Captain frowned, tightening his parachute.

"I don't see how I can." Captain said, turning to me and checking my parachute. I felt a little offended that he felt the need to check my parachute, but a larger part of me appreciated the thought.

"These guys come from legends, they're basically Gods." Agent Natasha said, adjusting her headset. I'd heard her talking to Fury about Thor compromising our mission. Hopefully they were sending us reinforcements.

"There's only one God, ma'am. And I'm pretty sure he doesn't dress like that!" Captain said, rushing towards the opening. I nodded to the red-headed agent before taking a deep breath. I let my antlers grow out before I glared at the opening of the plane.

I screamed like a little girl as I sprinted out of the jet. The feeling of nothing but rushing air under my feet was familiar, but my rate of falling was not. I looked down, and I was so high up that it looked like the ground was nothing more than a lego play set.

I tried to concentrate and right myself in the air. The air whipped against me, ringing in my ears. I felt a familiar feeling in my feet and suddenly, I wasn't flying down anymore. I was flying straight. I couldn't help but giggle as I held my arms out like Superman did in the movies. I heard booming coming down from below and I looked down over the beautiful mountains. The thunder had slowed, the sky only lit up dimly every ten minutes or so. I let out a shuddery breath as I felt myself drop a few feet. I slowly stabilized myself and then controlled myself to slowly loose altitude.

I spotted Tony, who was plummeting to the Earth. I turned myself parallel to the horizon and shot my way through the air. The air whipped against my face as my body spun down. Thank the gods for whoever thought about giving me goggles. I'm pretty sure if it wasn't for these, I'd be wind-blind by now.

"_TONY_!" I shouted over the wind. "You know where Thor and Loki are?"

"Jarvis has a lock on them!" Tony's voice projected from his suit. "I'm gonna hit ground first. Don't interrupt my grand entrance!"

Suddenly, the boosters on Tony's boots sparked to life. Sparks, heat, and exhaust plumed out behind him as he went rocketing to the mountainside, head-first. Shaking my head, I made my body horizontal with the horizon, which made me slow down. I then focused on the strange feeling that surrounded my body, which made me stable in the air. I realized that if I focused enough, I was simply floating in the air, not raising up or falling down.

I closed my eyes and mentally counted to one hundred. I hoped that would give Tony enough time for his damned entrance. I stretched, opening my eyes and slowly let myself start losing altitude. I blinked, surprised, at the small black ball that was falling beside me. I pushed myself forwards, my eyes narrowing in the dark. It was a little camera and its large lens was watching me.

I should have _known_ that Fury was watching this little charade. Angrily, I kicked at the camera, watching as the baseball sized technology was sent soaring. It quickly returned, floating right beside me. The damn thing must be motorized and controlled. Or it was hyper-intelligent and locked onto the team somehow.

"Fine. Watch the whole damn show from your cushy metal death trap," I hissed into the camera. "Just try to keep up with me."

* * *

**_Bruce_**

Fury corralled Agent Hill, Agent Coulson, and I into a board room. A projector was attached to the ceiling and was showing a live feed. The camera, one of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s sphere-cams, was floating through the dark, cloudy sky. I was still furious, but I was somehow able to contain myself.

The only reason Fury had gotten me into this damn room was because he promised me that Kate was still alive. I didn't know that I'd be getting video evidence of her survival, but my eyes automatically caught a flash of green among the black night. The camera closed in on the hint of green, which turned out to be the reindeer-mutant falling out of the sky.

I felt my brow begin to sweat as the sphere-cam zoomed over beside her. She was lying in the air, her pony-tail flying around her cheeks. I thought she was dead when I saw that her eyes were closed. I marveled at the camera's clear picture. Every pore, every eyelash, every pink pigment in her little cupid lips was pristine and crystal clear.

Her teal eyes snapped open, staring straight into the camera. I thought she would have looked terrified, since she was plunging closer to the Earth every second. Instead, her eyes were ferocious and completely clear of fear. Kate stretched, her back arching and her arms stretching over her head.

Slowly, she started falling. Shocked, I realized that Kate hadn't been falling at all. The mutant had somehow been floating in the middle of the sky. I heard Agent Hill whisper to Agent Coulson to add 'flight' to Kate's abilities on her file. The auburn-blonde finally caught sight of the sphere-cam, shooting it a rather filthy look.

Kate's upper lip curled up and she pushed herself away from the camera. One long, elegant leg, shot up and whacked the camera a good distance away. The camera quickly righted itself and locked back onto Kate's signature, returning to her.

"Fine. Watch the whole damn show from your cushy metal death trap," Kate hissed into the camera. "Just try to keep up with me."

With a rather elastic-like flip, Kate spun herself so that she was falling head first. She held her arms close to her sides, making herself aerodynamic. The mutant zoomed to the Earth like a bullet, making the sphere-cam give chase.

"Clock her speed." Agent Coulson said, eyes widening as Kate started making pin sharp turns to try and loose the camera. The two burst through clouds, the camera just keeping up with Kate. She let out a frustrated snarl, her entire body tensing as she gained more speed.

"Clocked at over 90 miles per the hour." Agent Hill said, typing on a small smartphone.

Kate flipped through the air, holding her arms out. She was getting close to the ground, and knew exactly when it was time for her parachute to be activated. The sheet blasted out behind her, hiding her from the camera's view as she made a slightly rough meeting with the ground.

"Must not be too great about landing." Agent Coulson muttered.

"Kate hates flying. She most likely didn't know she could fly until S.H.I.E.L.D. infiltrated in her business. That doesn't give her much time to learn how to land." I found myself hissing, cracking my fingers with my thumbs. Each digit snapped loudly, which brought a slight rush of calm.

"Kate hates flying. She most likely didn't know she could fly until S.H.I.E.L.D. infiltrated in her business. That doesn't give her much time to learn how to land." I found myself hissing, cracking my fingers with my thumbs. Each digit snapped loudly, which brought a slight rush of calm.

I turned my focus back to the sphere-cam, which was still trained on Kate. The mutant was fussing with the straps of her parachute. Annoyed, Kate pulled out one of her knives and cut herself out of her pack. Kate quickly rushed off into the forest, where bright flashes of sparks and thunder were coming from. Her boots crushed into the forest, snapping twigs left and right.

At least whoever else was in the forest will know that she's coming.

As she ran through the forest, she eventually made it into a large clearing. There, the man dressed up in a bad Halloween costume was fighting a man in a red and gold metal suit. Iron Man and Thor, the two who were supposed to join the Avengers Initiative, were seemingly beating each other black and blue.

Iron Man had thrown Thor into a large tree, causing the massive trunk to tilt sideways. Thor fell to his knees, clutching a large hammer. If that hammer is anything like the old myths, it should-

**_ZAP._**

Conduct, summon, and direct lighting.

The lightning shocked Iron Man, knocking him onto his back. I was almost completely positive that the Iron Man was down for the count. Kate shouted towards the god of thunder, who looked towards her curiously. The large man laughed as he stepped closer to her, a less than impressed look in his eyes. He knew that Kate wouldn't be much of a fight for him.

Or he was just laughing at her antlers.

"Get out of there." I whispered, leaning forward in my seat. Kate's lips twisted in a sneer, her head cocking in fake confusion. I could hear Agent Hill and Agent Coulson typing on their smartphones, taking down every detail of the multi-sided fight.

Quicker than I could follow, Kate's leg flew out in a devastating arc. Her booted heel smashed into Thor's face, sending him flying across the forest floor. I couldn't believe that the reindeer-mutant had that much strength in her kicks. Kate rolled her shoulders and turned to look at Iron Man, who was back on his feet. Thor was quickly up and ready to fight as well.

It looked like a pretty equal fight; a Viking god against two New Yorkers.

The two men suddenly flew at each other before quickly ascending into the sky. Kate rushed towards where the two lifted off and cursed, stomping her foot.

"In the sky? _Again_?" Kate shouted, looking up at the two men who were fighting in the sky. She watched as Iron Man grabbed Thor and tossed him into the mountainside. The blonde god roared and lunged at Iron Man, wrapping his tree-trunk sized arms around him and dragging the two of them down back to the forest floor.

"Incoming!" Kate yelped, nervously jogging around as she eyed the two men quickly falling to the Earth. Unsure of where they were going to land, the auburn-blonde leapt onto a low hanging branch. The reindeer-mutant was camouflaged perfectly in the trees; her cat suit with green accents and brown antlers melded perfectly.

"That has to hurt." Agent Coulson said as Iron Man and Thor crashed through trees and created a small crater in the forest floor. Kate's tree was missed by mere feet, which was far too close for comfort. Thor was crushing Iron Man's hand boosters when Kate jumped from her hiding spot. She landed perfectly on Thor's back, pulling out one of her knives and holding it against the god's throat.

"Back off!" Kate shouted, causing Thor to let go of Iron Man's boosters. Iron Man quickly fired a blast of energy from his palms into Thor's face, making his head snap back. That motion caused the back of his head to smash into Kate's face, knocking her clear off the blonde's back and making her drop her knife.

"Shit, man!" Kate shouted, rolling back on her feet. Her nose was dripping blood, but she seemed fine. "Watch what you're doing, Tony!"

"Sorry, Rudolf. I'm used to working alone." Iron Man's voice came from the suit, sounding synthesized and robotic. The blonde-auburnette smirked, wincing as her nose twitched.

"Here, let me make it up to you, babe." Iron Man said, grabbing Thor by the front of his armor and vengefully head-butting him. The tactic caused a huge metal sound, but the plan backfired as Thor head-butted Iron Man back, sending the New Yorker flying. Kate, infuriated once more, tucked her chin against her chest and charged at the god.

Thor managed to grapple a hold on Kate's antlers just before she impaled him. The sharp ends pierced his hands and made small dents in his armor, but Thor had a good hold on her antlers. Kate tried to shake her head and back out of Thor's hold, but his grip was firm.

"He's going to rip them right out of her skull!" I hissed, grinding my teeth. "Send them help!"

"Help's on its way, but give Miss Dasher a moment. You'll be surprised." Agent Hill said, looking perfectly calm. "I've shadowed her for months. I've seen her in more street fights and standoffs than I can count. Dasher can handle herself."

I sat back in my seat, cracking my knuckles and biting down on my bottom lip. These agents are lucky that the other guy isn't out and ripping this whole ship apart. I could feel him rooting around, feeding off my anger and anxiety. I tried telling him what was going on, but he couldn't completely understand. He had never met Kate, and was having trouble with all the new people and faces that I was trying to introduce him to.

The other guy wasn't dumb, like I had once thought. Many thought that we were one and the same, but that was just not true. We were two minds; two entities that shared one body. We didn't know each other's every thought. We could communicate to each other through our "bond", but we were still separate beings. Just because I was introduced to someone, does not mean that Hulk was too. He knew of Kate through me speaking to him, but would not know her by sight. I had tried to send mental pictures to Hulk through our mental bond, as did he, but those pictures usually came out discolored and distorted.

"You better hope so." I hissed to Agent Hill, who seemed to flinch minutely. I heard Hulk grumble and hum something to me. He was letting me know that he was there, and that he was waiting for my anger to increase to the point where I could not ask him to stay down.

Kate was still in Thor's grasp by the time I had settled my mind. She was yowling and shaking her head, digging her sharp antlers further into Thor. The god was stuck between a rock and a hard place; he couldn't let go of Kate for fear of her attacking, and he couldn't hold on much longer without her sharp points tearing his hands to shreds. With a mighty shove, Thor tossed Kate across the forest floor. The mutant straightened herself and landed on her heels.

Iron Man flew up to Thor, grabbed his arm and cape, and swung the god into a tree. He took another swing at the god, but Thor used his power against him and smashed Iron Man to the ground. Thor held out his hand, and his large hammer flew into his awaiting palm.

"Look here, goldilocks!" Kate shouted, pulling out one of her handguns and shooting in Thor's direction. She purposely missed him, but she gained his attention enough for Iron Man to use his hand boosters to skid and knock Thor to the ground. The two men and mutant stared at each other, readying for the next attack.

A flash of red, white, and blue spun towards the trio, ricocheting off of Thor and Iron Man, effectively stopping them. All three looked up to Captain America, who was standing before them. He looked irritated, like the last thing he wanted to do was deal with the three fighters.

I can't say it's going to be fun if they manage to make it back here. I don't think Fury really understands why putting so many…_large_ personalities on a ship together could be somewhat catastrophic.

"Hey! That's enough!" Captain said, turning his attention to Thor. "Now, I don't know what you plan on doing here."

"I've come here to put an end to Loki's schemes!" Thor said, puffing his big chest out. Agent Coulson and Hill smiled, hoping that Thor would be more than willing to join the Avengers to stop his brother. Kate narrowed her eyes at the blonde god, looking untrusting.

"Then prove it! Put the hammer down." Captain ordered. Iron Man scoffed, cocking his weight onto his left leg.

"Umm, yeah, no! Bad call! He loves his hammer!" Iron Man called sarcastically, causing Thor to grimace. Unexpectedly, Thor gripped his hammer and backhanded the man with it, sending him flying into the forest. Captain and Kate froze, staring at the god.

Thor raised his hammer, and looked straight into the eyes of Captain America. "You want me to put the hammer down?"

Thor didn't hesitate for a second. He leapt into the air, wielding his hammer high over his head. Kate quickly emptied all of her bullets at Thor, but he powered through the pain. The heavily armored man was about to smash Captain's brains out, when the soldier crouched down and held up his shield.

Whatever his shield was made out of gained a strong reaction when Thor brought down his hammer.

"_Oh…my…god…"_ I found myself whispering as the sphere-cam's lens showed a massive implosion of light. "Where is their back up?"

"A few miles away. Agent Romanoff is still stabilizing the quinjet." Agent Hill said calmly, watching the screen with dark eyes. She didn't seem nervous at all, even though three of the power houses on our team might have just blown each other up. The screen slowly faded back to color, shapes forming fuzzily.

All four of the superhumans were on the ground. Iron Man and Captain were flopped down beside each other, looking around at the semi-destroyed landscape in awe. Where was Kate? Where was Thor? My heart began to pound a bit, but I managed to force it down with deep breathing.

The camera quickly found Thor and Kate, who were slumped beside each other. The large man was lying flat on his stomach, with the deer mutant splayed over his back. Her eyes flickered open as she groaned. Kate looked a little worse for wear, but she was up and moving. Her nose was still bleeding from earlier, but it didn't look like she had any new wounds. She pushed herself off Thor with some difficulty, and I frowned when I saw her wince and cup her right elbow. Thor sat up as well, and all four persons sat quietly, taking each other in for a few moments.

"Are we done here?" Captain asked. Without a word, Thor, Iron Man, and Kate nodded. They all stood, shaking dirt and debris off themselves. The sound of a jet was heard, and the group decided that Captain and Thor would go get Loki ready for transport. Iron Man and Kate stayed behind to help prepare the quinjet. Agent Romanoff had landed the jet close by in a vacant field, and needed some simple touchups before it was ready to fly back to the Helicarrier.

"You never called for any backup, did you?" I asked slowly, keeping my attention towards the screen. The two agents behind me stopped moving. I could feel the room fill with tension, but I kept my cool.

"I knew that backup would not be necessary." Agent Hill said softly, but sternly. "I understand that you are worried for your teammates, but the other agents and I have been shadowing each Avenger for an undisclosed amount of time. Each of you is strong. You don't need backup."

I understood, but I felt uneasiness bubble in my veins. If S.H.I.E.L.D. would lie about something as simple as sending backup, what _wouldn't_ they lie about?


	6. Chapter 6: Fury's First Folly

Alright, just wanna say a few things:

AGAIN: BRUCE AND KATE HAVE LITTLE TO NO ROMANTIC FEELINGS TOWARDS EACH OTHER AT THIS POINT. They feel very comfortable and protective of each other because of their upbringings and their solitary lifestyles. If you had to live in isolation because no one could understand you or your powers, then you find a group of people who understood, you would cling to those people.

Two, during the Fury-Loki interrogation scene, the paragraphs in italics are what the Avengers are witnessing through the monitor.

I'm glad you guys are liking the story (:

(: Read and Review

* * *

**_Kate: _**

The flight home was quick, but twice as terrifying as before. Every small bump felt larger and I kept replaying the feeling of the jet jarring violently in my head. I spent the next few hours curled up between the metal wall and Captain's sweaty side, shivering with my forehead pressed against my quaking knees.

It was two in the morning by the time Agent Natasha landed the quinjet at the Helicarrier. Agents wearing oxygen masks scurried out onto the tarmac to secure the plane. We all attached our oxygen masks before Agent Natasha opened the main door and lead us into the "safety" of the Helcarrier. The hallways were brightly lit, the fluorescent light practically abusing my corneas.

Dozens of heavily armored agents had double handcuffed Loki and were dragging him ahead of us. Loki would look into every window we passed, as if he was looking for something. His scepter had been confiscated, so that was a possibility.

We marched down another corridor that was lined with laboratories. Loki paused at one window, a sick looking smirk slowly curling on his face. His eyes lit up with unholy glee, and it didn't diminish, even as his guards shoved him forwards.

"Doctor Banner's in there with the scepter," Agent Natasha said, her eyes calculating as she nodded towards the window that had attracted Loki. "Dasher, go tell him that we're meeting in the briefing room in twenty minutes."

Nodding, I turned away from the group and pressed my hand against the door scanner. The technology quickly recognized my hand and the door slid open with a swish and hiss. Bruce's head snapped towards the door, and his shoulders dropped their tension when he realized it was just me.

"I'm back, just like I said." I said smugly, leaning against the doorframe. Bruce smiled, looking slightly tired. The lights in the lab were slightly dimmed and the sleeves of his shirt were rolled up to his elbows. Bruce was clearly getting as comfy as he could.

"With only a handful of complications." Bruce smiled, taking a seat in a spinning chair.

"_Ah_…so, you heard about the mission." I grimaced, hoping he hadn't heard how much of a shit show the mission had turned out to be, even if we did apprehend Loki.

"Watched, actually. S.H.I.E.L.D. has sphere-cams that follow most missions," Bruce said, smiling at the look of horror on my face. "I must say, you take a head-butt rather gracefully."

"That is so embarrassing!" I groaned, slumping over to take a seat beside Bruce. "At least it's over."

"For now." Bruce said softly, standing up and going over to the lab's sink. He wet a paper towel and gave it to me while motioning to his nose. Crinkling my nose, I could feel dried blood flake off. Cringing once more, I started wiping my face with the wet paper towel.

"Thanks. Agent Natasha told me to tell you that we're all meeting in the briefing room in about twenty minutes." I said, my voice muffled as I wiped at my upper lip. Bruce's brow furrowed in thought.

"Something wrong?" I asked, leaning further into my chair. I felt sore, but my right elbow was bothering me more than anything else. I rotated my elbow in a slow circular motion, the bone popping loudly.

"S.H.I.E.L.D. is willing to lie about anything. I need you to know that," Bruce said softly, eyes darting around the lab. "Director Fury has a goal in mind, and he'll do anything to make it a reality."

"Gotcha, chief." I agreed wholeheartedly. "I figured that when Fury knocked my ass out."

Bruce smirked at me, and looked like he wanted to question the nickname, but never did. Bruce looked frustrated for a flash of a second when I began to roll and curl my elbow again. He went to a small first aid kit that was beside the sink and pulled out an instant ice pack. Wrapping it in a paper towel, Bruce came back to sit down beside me. Bruce smashed the ice pouch in his hand and handed me the now-cold pack.

"I'm not _that_ kind of doctor, but even I know that you could use some ice for that." Bruce said calmly, cracking his knuckles.

"Thanks," I said, pressing the pack to my elbow with a deep sigh. "I saw Loki give you a look. Wonder what that was about."

I mused for a second quietly, feeling the cold pack soothing my elbow. Bruce looked back towards the window, as if he was reliving the moment Loki starred into his lab. He didn't look scared, but he looked disturbed. He pursed his full lips in thought, his brown eyes narrowing at the window.

"Who knows what's going on in that man's mind." Bruce grumbled, fidgeting with his rolled up sleeves. "Maybe he can sense the Hulk."

"I think he'd be intimidated. Maybe he knows he's not as strong as Hulk." I murmured, tapping my boots against the ground. If I was Loki, I'd be intimidated by a giant green goliath. Bruce stilled, his eyes searching mine. I couldn't tell what he was thinking, but he was deep inside his own mind.

* * *

**_Bruce: _**

When Kate walked into the lab, she looked worse for wear. There was blood dried around her nose, and there were miniscule wounds all over her person. Her forehead was beginning to bruise, she was holding her elbow awkwardly, and her hair was a rat's nest.

She was just so…_real_.

I stared at Kate openly, trying to figure out if she herself was intimidated by the Hulk. I couldn't help but notice that she called him Hulk, instead of _the_ Hulk. Kate stared back at me, unwavering. Her big, teal eyes were dulled in exhaustion, but they held firm to mine.

"Would you be scared?" I asked, watching her shift slightly in her chair.

"Of course," She said, making me bite my lip in frustration. "I would be. But, Hulk's on our side, so I'm not."

I felt relief flutter from my stomach at her honesty. Kate looked me straight in the eyes when she spoke, seeming to understand that I wasn't one to trust others much. Did she understand the feeling too? Of not being able to trust other people? I felt my gut twist. Who would want to deceive this girl? She seemed so kind, if lacking a bit in self-survival skills, but was so quick to accept me without judgment. The thought of someone purposely trying to hurt her made my insides clench.

I took a mental picture, lingering on her face for a few moments. I mentally prodded Hulk, who grumbled. I forced the mental picture through our bond and Hulk grunted when he received it. He seemed to study it for a few moments, very quiet.

"_Woman_." He whispered, understanding "_Friend_."

_"Yes. She's a friend, along with a few others. We're joining a small…group for a short time. We're going to protect people."_ I said back through our bond.

_"Bruce trust Hulk? Trust to protect?" _

_"I…don't fully know yet."_ I answered honestly. "_You've…We've caused so much destruction."_

_"Hulk prove to Bruce,"_ Hulk huffed, thumping his large foot down with a resounding smack. _"Hulk protect. Protect girl, fight with her. Hulk meet her for real soon?" _

_"No! No fight with her!"_ I gasped mentally. _"Protect her!"_

_"Bruce stupid."_ Hulk hissed, rolling his eyes.

_"Excuse me?"_ I answered back, feeling slightly offended.

_"Hulk mean fight with. Girl look like fighter. When she fight, I fight. Fight with. Fight for." _

"-Uce? Bruce?" Kate called, waving her hand about a foot away from my face. "You went a little space cadet on me there, chief."

I smiled, hearing Hulk chuckling in the back of my mind. I ignored the amused Big Guy, and returned to the here and now. I refocused on Kate, who was leaning closer with a concerned look on her face. She smiled back at me after a moment and stood, cracking her back.

"We better start heading to the briefing room." Kate said, straightening her spine. We left the lab in comfortable silence and I couldn't help but smile. Kate walked side by side with me, so close to me that her shoulder would brush my upper arm with every other step she took. She didn't flinch or try to put more space between us.

It was like…we were two normal people, two normal friends.

It felt heartbreakingly amazing.

Kate and I entered the briefing room together and took a seat beside Agent Romanoff and Thor. Kate seemed uncomfortable sitting beside Thor, and chose to sit between the red-haired assassin and myself. Thor didn't seem to notice, his attention was on the monitor in the room that showed his brother about to be interrogated.

"Captain?" Kate asked in a whisper. "Where's Tony?"

Captain Rodgers looked at Kate with a deadpan stare. The two Avengers stared at each other for a moment, blue and teal seeming to confer without words. Kate sighed, rolling her head on her shoulders in an exhausted way.

"He wants to make an entrance, doesn't he?" Kate groaned, stretching her arms above her head. Her muscles shook for a moment in strain before she slumped bonelessly back in her chair.

"Of course." Captain Rodgers grunted, clearly agitated. I frowned as I watched the two become irritated. Kate smiled at me, making my mouth perk up to mimic hers. Everyone in the room turned their attention to the monitors when Nick Fury began to mock Loki.

* * *

**_Kate _**

_From the safety of the briefing room, we all could see that Loki was freed from his cuffs. He was locked in a large, circular, glass cell. The spherical cell was held up by metal hydraulic poles that were controlled by a panel just outside the cell. _

_Director Fury was marching around on the metal walkway, like a big cat stalking his cornered prey. Loki didn't let an expression filter across his face, he just watched Director Fury. Fury stopped in front of the control panel and ran his gloved fingers over the many buttons and switches. _

_"In case it's unclear," Fury said dangerously, his finger poised over a large button. "If you try to escape; you so much as scratch that glass..."_

_Fury pressed the button, which opened a large hatch that was underneath Loki's cell. Blasts of wild, howling wind shot into the room, making me wince._

There was no way any human would survive the fall to earth from that hatch. Even if they did, they would probably end up drying, trapped in the cell.

I didn't even want to imagine the suffering one would face if the cell landed in water.

_"Thirty thousand feet, straight down in a steel trap. You get how that works?" Fury asked rhetorically as he pressed a series of buttons to close the trap. Loki was still expressionless, his green eyes dark with boredom. _

_"Ant." Fury pointed a strong hand at the god. _

_"Boot." Fury threatened, pointing at the button that would drop Loki to his doom. _

_"It's an impressive cage," Loki said, a smirk uncurling on his pale face. "Not built, I think, for me."_

Not for him? Why the hell else would S.H.I.E.L.D. have a giant, disposable jail cell? I thought it was so we could drop Loki off if he tried to pull any tricks and do some evil princess magic. I leaned forwards, watching Fury carefully. Why was that cell here?

_"Built for something a lot stronger than you." Fury said, not giving anything away with his facial expression._

I felt Bruce tense beside me.

_"Oh, I've heard." Loki cooed in a sultry manner. He took his green gaze away from Fury and looked straight at the camera. His smirk grew, his eyes dancing with a crazed sheen. _

_"The mindless beast…makes play he's still a man." Loki said softly, still looking into the camera_.

The harsh truth finally hit me. Bruce was tense, he had stood out of his chair and was gripping the back of my chair with a white knuckled fist. Not in fear, but in anger.

_"How desperate are you, that you call upon such lost creatures to defend you?" Loki taunted, hoping to get a rise out of the Director._

I felt my own gut churn and my chest burn with rage. If Fury thought he could get away with being so diabolical, all while trying to "save the world", he could kiss my New York ass.

_"How desperate am I? You threaten my world with war. You steal a force you can't hope to control. You talk about peace and you kill 'cause it's fun. You have made me very desperate. You might not be glad that you did." Fury said smoothy, but a deadly tone backed up his words. Any sane man would have automatically been on the defensive, but Loki was not sane. Not in the slightest bit. _

_"Oooh. It burns you to come so close. To have the Tesseract, to have power, unlimited power. And for what? A warm light for all mankind to share, and then to be reminded what real power is." Loki said, his eyes boring into the Director. Fury smiled, his cheeks taunt, and seemed to mock the god. _

_"Well, you let me know if 'Real Power' wants a magazine or something." Fury walked off the metal walkway and out the door. Loki stared at his back for a moment before turning his attention back to the camera feed. He smiled, which was the last thing the camera recorded before our connection was _disconnected.

None of us could find the words to say.

Captain sat in his chair, eyes still on the darkened monitor. Thor had his back turned to the monitor, but listened intently to his brother. Even though his head-butt almost knocked me back a decade, I felt pity for the god. It was hard to see a loved one in a bad place, even worse if they weren't sane enough to understand their wrong doings.

Agent Natasha sat beside me quietly, her hands threaded together on the tabletop. Her icy green eyes watched Bruce, who was still standing behind me. I turned my neck to look up at him, but he was looking down, staring intently at the floor. He looked like he was going daydreamer on me again.

"He really grows on you, doesn't he?" Bruce said after a few moments, breaking the ice.

"Loki's gonna drag this out," Captain said with confidence. "So, Thor, what's his play?"

"He has an army called the Chitauri. They're not of Asgard or any world known. He means to lead them against your people. They will win him the earth in return, I suspect, for the Tesseract." Thor said after a few moments of thought.

"An army? From outer space?" Captain asked, slightly disbelieving.

"That's where _alien_ armies typically come from, Captain." I quipped, shooting him a playful smile. Captain frowned and gave me a serious glare. It looks like our dear Captain still had a chunk of ice up his tight butt.

"So…" Bruce said, trying to diffuse the small situation. "He's building another portal. That's what he needs Erik Selvig for."

"Selvig?" Thor said, sounding familiar with the man.

"He's an astrophysicist." Bruce said darkly, clearly knowing the man as well.

"He's a friend." Thor said, disheartened.

"Loki has him under some kind of spell, along with one of ours." Agent Natasha said with a poker face. She was talking about the agent, the one who she was staring at the picture of earlier. I felt a pang of pity for her as well.

"I wanna know why Loki let us take him. He's not leading an army from here." Captain reasoned.

"I don't think we should be focusing on Loki. That guy's brain is a bag full of cats, you could smell crazy on him." Bruce reasoned, pulling his glasses off his face with a grumble. Thor frowned and turned to glare at the scientist, who didn't bat an eyelash.

"Have care how you speak. Loki is beyond reason, but he is of Asgard, and he's my brother." Thor said seriously, his blue eyes shooting lasers at Bruce. Bruce frowned and raised a brow.

"He killed eighty people in two days." Agent Natasha said bluntly.

"He's adopted." Thor shrugged with a sheepish look on his face.

"So what?" I asked, feeling more anger start to bubble in my chest. "That doesn't give him an excuse."

"Many children who are adopted are at a higher risk to becoming delinquents and criminals." Captain said softly, looking at me dully. I clenched my fists and hissed at the super soldier.

"I'm adopted, _thank you very much_." I spat, leaning further back in my chair and kicking my feet up onto the table.

"Well, you're not exactly the poster children for normalcy." Captain said coldly, crossing his arms over his chest. "Besides, the word around town is that you're a vigilante. That's against the law. You're a criminal."

"And you're a soldier; which means you're just a muscle monkey that's stupid enough to blindly follow orders!" I screeched, standing up and pushing my chair back. "C'mere and I'll knock you back to your own time!"

Bruce's hands were on my shoulders in a flash. He gripped the Kevlar and leather fabric of my jumpsuit between his hands and squeezed. I felt the tension in my shoulders lock up before it relaxed away at the simple touch. I let out a huge breath that I didn't know I was holding in. Bruce squeezed my shoulders again, his voice ringing out over my head.

"I think it's about mechanics. Iridium," Bruce said, putting a stop to me and Captain's fighting. "What do they need the Iridium for?"

"It's a stabilizing agent." Tony said, walking into the room with Coulson by his side. He said something to the agent about flying him somewhere before turning his attention back to the group. "Means the portal won't collapse on itself, like it did at SHIELD."

Tony swaggered into the briefing room with a cocky smirk on his face. Agent Coulson seemed amused, keeping pace with the billionaire.

"No hard feelings, Point Break," Tony said, nodding to Thor and patting his upper arm with the back of his hand. "You've got a mean swing."

"Also," Tony said, taking a deep breath and striding into the rest of the way into the room. "Also, it means the portal can open as wide, and stay open as long, as Loki wants."

Bruce hummed in acknowledgement. He licked his lips in thought and fiddled with his rolled up sleeve. Bruce hummed again, his honey brown orbs following Tony's every move.

"Uh, raise the mid-mast, ship the topsails. That man is playing _GALAGA_! Thought we wouldn't notice. But we did." Tony commanded, marching around the room. He scooted over to Fury's throne of monitor screens, buttons, and files. The Iron Man covered his eye and started looking around with his one eye. "How does Fury see these things?"

"He turns." A beautiful, dark haired agent deadpanned.

"Well, that sounds exhausting." Tony sounded exasperated, dropping his hand away from his eye. Shrugging his shoulders, the dark haired billionaire swaggered back towards the group. He started talking about the stolen compound and the brainwashed agents again, giving me a headache. I barely knew him and I already hated how Tony would bounce from one topic to another.

"The rest of the raw materials, Agent Barton can get his hands on pretty easily. Only major component he still needs is a power source. With a high energy density, something to kick start the cube." Tony mused.

"When did you become an expert in thermonuclear astrophysics?" The dark haired agent snarked, rolling her eyes.

"Last night. The packet, Selvig's notes, the Extraction Theory papers. Am I the only one who did the reading?" Tony sounded exasperated. What reading? I didn't know there was homework?

"Does Loki need any particular kind of power source?" Captain asked, shifting nervously. He obviously hadn't done the reading either.

"He'd have to heat the cube to a hundred and twenty million Kelvin just to break through the Coulomb barrier." Bruce said, beginning to pace in thought.

"Unless, Selvig has figured out how to stabilize the quantum tunneling effect." Tony said, his eyes darting to Bruce.

"Well, if he _could_ do that he could achieve Heavy Ion Fusion at any reactor on the planet." Bruce said, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Finally, someone who speaks English!" Tony said, sounding relieved. Bruce stopped pacing and smiled shyly.

"Is that what just happened?" Captain asked, looking lost. Tony and Bruce quickly made their way over to each other and shook hands. I could see an instant mutual respect for each other. Tony grinned, and I hoped he wouldn't try to say something to make Bruce uncomfortable.

"It's good to meet you, Dr. Banner. You're work on anti-electron collisions is unparalleled." Tony said, sounding honestly impressed. Bruce smiled, about to thank the billionaire, but Tony cut him off and kept talking.

"-and I'm a huge fan of the way you lose control and turn into an enormous green rage monster."

And…there it is.

Bruce looked down, seemingly ashamed. "Thanks."

"Tony…" I cautioned, pushing my chair back. Tony looked to me, seemingly sheepish. Bruce didn't seem too bothered by Tony's playful jab and looked at me with a calm expression. The doors whooshed open and in walked Director Fury, his arms clasped behind his back.

"Doctor Banner is-" Fury started. Aggravated, I pushed myself out of my chair and faced the Director.

"Has his own personal cell," I said, cocking my head to the side. I could feel my antlers poking at my scalp, begging to be let out. "I wonder who had that built. Would you like to give your two cents?"

"Miss McGuiness, please calm yourself." Director Fury said.

"Why? What're ya' gonna do? Knock my ass out and drag me somewhere else. Why would you do that when I had already agreed to help you? Bruce is here to help you, so you build a cell for him? Do you want to kill everyone who doesn't fall perfectly into your little plans?" I raged, taking slow steps towards the Director.

Tony grabbed onto my elbow with a tight grip. I stood my ground and held eye contact with Fury. We had an intense stare down for a moment or so before Tony gently tugged me back a few steps.

"Deep breath, Rudolf." He hushed to me, tugging me back further. "This whole show is shady, but we don't have hard proof just yet."

Wasn't the cell prof enough?

"Doctor Banner…is _only_ here to track the cube. I was hoping Tony might join him." Director Fury said evenly, turning his attention towards Tony. Tony silently glared at the Director, his fingers still wrapped tightly around my arm. We looked towards each other, and I knew that Tony and I would be nosing around for proof that Fury was up to something the moment he had his back turned.


End file.
